The maritime transportation industry plays an important and pivotal role as an enabler of world commerce and as a catalyst to growth throughout international markets, both for developed economies and emerging markets.
This is not only an important role, it is an important responsibility, and it is receiving plenty of attention. Continued and determined work by each of the many stakeholders in the logistics value chain ensures agility in the supply chain focused on delivering sustainable activities, safety and quality at reduced costs, and with capacity for future growth.
Many evolving trends during 2015 will impact our industry in 2016 and beyond. Volume developments will remain uneven on the backdrop of struggling and fragile economies; changing alliance structures with more to come, spurred by consolidation; larger vessels, resulting in higher volume velocity at marine and inland terminals — and much more — all must be managed on a continued basis. While volumes may grow at a reduced and uneven pace, over an about 25-year period, we still need a supply chain prepared to handle double the current flow of goods.
To this end, collaboration and significantly enhanced data sharing will be vital, leveraging big data to enable higher utilization of existing infrastructure and creating enhanced visibility for all stakeholders. Best practices implemented in past years may no longer be up to date and will need to be revisited. Preparedness to change and to adopt in each sector of the logistics chain will be necessary to meet both internal and external challenges, including keeping pace with technology advancements.
Complex, invigorating times require nimbleness at meeting the needs of multiple varied partners and stakeholders.