The maritime industry and broader ocean supply chain are suffering from major and costly inefficiencies, due to ineffective data sharing and poor cross-industry collaboration, according to a new report released by the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, in coordination with Navis and XVELA, both part of Cargotec.
The study, entitled “Competitive Gain in the Ocean Supply Chain: Innovation That’s Driving Maritime Operational Transformation,” is based on a global survey of more than 200 executives and professionals across the industry and it indicates that importers, exporters, container carriers, terminal operators, vessel owners and other stakeholders suffer from poor visibility and predictability around shipments and are losing money, due to a lack of partner synchronization and insufficient data insight.
However, there is recognition, particularly among industry leaders interviewed, that digitization and mindset shifts are afoot, and will be a boon to all players in the industry. 90% of survey participants said real-time data access and information sharing was important to increasing the efficiency and performance of the shipping industry, while 82 percent said the industry needs to improve supply chain visibility.
The push for improvements will likely come from a combination of forces, according to industry executives. Shippers will push for better operational visibility; alliances will demand better ways for their carrier members to share information to improve efficiencies and customer service; and terminals and port authorities will be under pressure to increase utilization and optimize existing infrastructures.
According to respondents, the areas most in need of improvement are:
- carrier to terminal coordination,
- supply chain visibility and information sharing,
- terminal operations,
- cargo flow visibility and predictability, and
- coordination across carrier alliances.
The report indicates that industry resistance to change, coupled with the industry’s aging and inflexible IT systems, are key impediments to improving visibility and collaboration. Some 54 percent of respondents said the industry being “slow to change” was one the biggest roadblocks to improving collaboration. At the same time, many in the industry believe that change is coming. Some 46 percent of respondents said their companies were either investing significantly in new technologies or significantly increasing those investments.
“We are seeing accelerating technology innovation and upgrades as terminals and carriers alike embrace the age of digitization,” said Benoit de la Tour, President of Navis and Head of the Software Business at Kalmar. “Last year alone, 43 terminals completed the implementation or upgrade of our N4 terminal system, more than double the amount of the previous year. And we are seeing strong uptake this year, along with a more positive outlook in third-party research and media reports from some of the leading companies in the container shipping industry.”
Other key findings include:
- Some 90 percent of shippers and consignees say there’s a need to improve visibility in the ocean supply chain.
- Eighty-five percent of shippers and consignees rate the industry as either “slow to change” (70 percent) or “far behind the curve” (15 percent) when it comes to innovation and next generation technology adoption.
- Just 12 percent of respondents said their partners were “very effective” at collaborating and sharing data, although 38 percent said their partners were improving and 32 percent said they were “somewhat effective.”
- Respondents said the top five most promising technologies for the maritime industry are: data analytics, automation, the Internet of Things, new software management solutions and cloud solutions.
“The findings of the study are consistent with what we are hearing in the field from some of the biggest carriers and terminals in the world – namely that coordination, collaboration, and visibility across the supply chain need to improve through a common cloud platform and network,” commented Guy Rey-Herme, XVELA CEO and President. “This is vital for all involved to remain competitive and eliminate inefficiencies that are hobbling the industry’s growth opportunities.”
The official report may be downloaded here.
