This commentary appeared in the print edition of the Jan. 6, 2020, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook.
Emerging technology, the use of data, a shift to the cloud, and a focus on decarbonization of operations are on the rise in our industry and are causing a shift in how both terminals and carriers are operating. This change impacts our business strategy, including how we develop and implement new products and capabilities for our customers.
On the terminal side, we are seeing an increased demand for cloud deployments for terminal operating systems (TOS). The demand to move our customers’ core TOS to the cloud is becoming favorable due to the opportunity for reduced IT infrastructure costs, shorter TOS implementation timeframes, and future value of greater interoperability with stakeholders.
With more terminals and ports using innovative technology, the challenge of sharing, extracting, and properly utilizing data has become more prevalent in the industry. In order to address this issue, the industry needs to shift its mindset from who owns the data and how they can monetize it to how economic value can be gained from the use and re-use of data throughout the supply chain ecosystem. Once the industry further standardizes its data and processes, the available data will be able to be put into use to help supply chain operators make better decisions.
Finally, sustainability is becoming a greater priority for our customers. We are seeing carriers being challenged to meet carbon regulations, including reducing and using cleaner fuel and running their assets more efficiently. Additionally, due to the decarbonization trends, we have seen an accelerating demand for more electric vehicles in lieu of vehicles running on carbon-based fuels.
To help our customers overcome these challenges, Navis has continued to evolve its product offerings and services to adapt as business needs evolve. Deploying technology for terminal operators to make data and applications easier to access and use, updating the onboard ship computers to compare and analyze energy use, and focusing our efforts on reducing IT infrastructure to host our software in the cloud are some of the ways we are working with customers from around the world to combat the operational challenges they are facing.