We are now in the age of the digital economy. Computing power costs have decreased so much that businesses are digitizing faster than ever. This year, we see a tremendous opportunity for the global transportation industry to digitally connect its people, systems, and data intelligence to gain new insights to navigate our industry’s changes and grow their businesses in the digital economy.
The Internet of Things is rapidly enabling live updates on vessels, trucks, containers, and cargo. At the same time, businesses are developing and sharing new applications in shipping industry ecosystems that bring together and analyze multiple data sources to provide new insights. All businesses in the supply chain, including retailers, manufacturers, logistics service providers, truckers, rail, ports, terminals, and carriers, must develop ways to tap into the connected economy to remain competitive.
Ocean container transportation experienced significant changes in 2016, when the top 20 ocean carriers consolidated down to 14 top ocean carriers. Also, the four major carrier alliances reorganized into three major alliances. The carrier consolidation and alliance changes are causing tremendous changes to the services that are available for shippers and NVOCCs. As the new ocean carrier services and alliances go into effect in 2017, it will be crucial for shippers and NVOCCs to know what to expect in terms of new services, transit times, and performance to plan and optimize their supply chains. Companies that are digitally connected may have greater insights and respond faster to our industry’s changes in 2017.