Marcus L. Arky, CEO, Metro Group Maritime

https://mgmus.com/
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Marcus L. Arky

History will judge the significance of 2020, but for now, the weight is hard to overstate.

COVID-19 has forever changed the way work will be done. The acceptance of working from home has brought about a reliance on digital collaboration tools and tolerance of innumerable video conference calls. Hybrid work-from-home models will stay even after offices are free to operate as they did pre-pandemic, reshaping routines, communities, and company cultures.

Business practices and processes have in most cases revealed stout resilience. Yet improvements are still needed to instill entrepreneurial mindsets and elevate thinking beyond the streamlining of workflows. This is a challenge well beyond shipping and logistics, but in a transaction and process-focused industry, it requires attention to develop.

The US government is deliberating issues that will influence age-old industry definitions affecting payment regimes for freight, equipment, and assessorial charges as well as other legal and economic liabilities. 2021 is shaping up to be a pivotal year to smartly navigate regulatory change.

The pandemic has left no place untouched, and in our global industry, supply chain operators have been heroic. As the coronavirus spread, supply chains to support first responders kicked into action, and supply chain professionals became silent heroes, setting aside differences to unite on common action. The strength and determination of people across the industry are a source of pride and hope for a better 2021.

Our industry is defined by delivering results, and consequently it has the opportunity to lead in creating a post-partisan environment where shared goals outweigh differences and determination to solve problems is more tenacious than identifying blame. It is a unique position to act upon and opportunity to seize today.