Shipping Industry: “Digitalization is a Must-have”
At the KLU Symposium “Transitions: Readiness and Challenges in the Shipping Industry” on October 27, Mikael Lind, Senior Research Advisor at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and Professor for Maritime Informatics at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, will be part of a panel discussion on the opportunities and limits of digitalization in shipping. What can guests expect to see at the Symposium?
Leading up to the event, Gordon Wilmsmeier, Director of the Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL) at KLU, spoke with him.
Check out the full program and register for the the open-public event.
What are the greatest challenges for digitalization in shipping?
Mikael Lind: The speed at which digitalization has spread in the maritime sector is impressive. The technical components needed have all been available for years, but digitalization also forces people to change their behavior. In other words, we have to adopt a completely new mindset when it comes to collaboration.
Where do the greatest opportunities lie for exchanging data – and where are the limits?
Lind: Shipping is a global industry, and digitalization can bring people closer together, regardless of how far apart they are physically. There’s considerable potential, for instance, in collaboration between Asia and Europe in terms of communicating the expected arrival times for goods. On the other hand, we can clearly see certain limits: many of the parties involved aren’t willing to share all their data. But in order to deliver solid performance for the system as a whole, the goal should be to share a minimum amount of essential data.
Could you define that minimum amount?
Lind: The greatest potential lies in sharing timestamps for arrivals and departures along the supply chain, provided the sector can agree on doing so. Here, we’re explicitly not talking about disclosing what’s being transported. The fact that some companies want to keep their data to themselves is holding back the entire sector. What’s more, this reluctance can create a security risk for those companies that are willing to share their data. In my view, sharing scheduling data within a predefined community would be productive – though of course not with the general public.
To what extent can digitalization make shipping more sustainable?
Lind: Currently, shipping is a largely self-organized business. In other words, the individual actors aren’t bound by any regulations in this sense. In maritime transport, physical presence continues to be very important – for instance, when checking in at a port. Here, digitalization can help to inform other players along the supply chain about your plans and the status quo. In this way, the burden on the infrastructure can be more accurately planned and the collaboration between ports can be optimized. In addition, it offers a wholly new perspective through a virtual “planning regimen” in which you can reserve berths in advance. With this type of “scheduling economy,” you can bid for or even trade in slots. In other words, digitalization can create a marketplace for slot management – and one for fuel. Consequently, digitalization is a must-have, a prerequisite for bringing together the diverse range of actors. More sustainable shipping can’t be achieved without it!
Thanks very much, Mr. Lind!
More information:
- Join Mikael Lind for the panel discussion on “Digitalization in Shipping: The ‘limits’ and opportunities of collaboration in logistics platforms” at the KLU Symposium on October 27.
- Further panel members will include Nils Haysager (Hapag-Lloyd AG), Stewart Jeacocke (IBM/TradeLens) and Philippe Lavarde (Closelink), with Prof. Rod Franklin (KLU) moderating.
- You can register online.
- Full program
- Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL)