Thomas Sproat, President, Safmarine North America

https://www.safmarine.com
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Thomas Sproat

There are always a number of moving parts in our industry that keep us on our toes. This is what keeps it interesting and fun to be in the container shipping industry. For 2018, we’re focused on the exciting challenges to take out the complexity in the common processes and transactions of container shipping by exploring and embracing technology.

The traditional growth in this space has been to put more aspects of customers’ transactions online and visible for our customers. I believe we will have to think beyond this and bring improvements to a new level, look outside of the common ways of managing freight transactions.

We need to look at new technology and solutions, such as Blockchain, to improve our customers’ business, as well as look into new product offerings such as trade finance. These solutions allow customers to explore new ways to manage their cargo and improve their business. We want to be a highly valued partner for them and ensure we are on the leading edge of the next chapter in container shipping. If I have one call out for all of us, it’s to be prepared and aware of the impact of new technology, as the pace of this change will only increase and we will all need to be in front of it, or risk being disrupted.