In 2015, we will need to accelerate the development and sharing of new ideas and solutions to address the growing challenges we face in the transportation industry.
The biggest change will be the acceptance that this responsibility is not limited to just one participant. Acting as individual entities will not drive any change. Nor will it be conducive to an improvement landscape. To address the core elements needed to position our industry for the future, it will require many of the key stakeholders involved to rethink their position and actually commit to initiatives to improve the shared working relationships we have in place today.
This will not be an easy evolution. Market conditions are not favorable for investment, and those capable to provide capital lack the security of any return on investment. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that realized improvements will be transferrable back to those willing to provide this much-needed support. This aspect clouds any thought of cooperation with complexity and creates the need to establish self-serving polices designed to protect individual success and profitiability.
It has been evident for most of 2014 that this behavior places all participants in a heightened state of awareness. At this point, there is no need to restate the examples or rehash the increased media coverage. The focus should remain on the fact that without the harmony of coordination, it only encourages reactive alternatives and quick-fix solutions to address the constantly changing short-term variables.
This is not a healthy enviroment for any industry improvement. However, it is the foreseeable future we must operate within. Collectively, we have the data, knowledge and maturity to understand how we can overcome our challenges. The biggest task will be to see if we can motivate this change.
Jonathan Yock, President, Safmarine North America