2017 saw a major shift in Maritime Technology, ranging from Smart Sensors, IOT (Internet of Things) to cloud based automated shipping operations across vessel management, vessel performance, tracking voyage profitability to optimising Dry Dock costs. Industry 4.0 in commercial Maritime industry has opened up a whole new vistas across:
- Human to Machine ( Interface devices, Mobile, PC)
- Machine to Machine ( Sensors, cloud, enterprise systems interacting in harmony)
- Machine to Human ( Visualization tools, Smart sensors, Hand held devices)
The rate of technology innovation and adoption by Ship Owners and Ship Management companies will grow the fastest over next 5 years. Despite being the most preferred mode of bulk transport and being responsible for more than 90% of trade transport, maritime industry was the slowest to respond to the digital advancements.
Let’s look at some very immediate impact that Digital Platforms are bringing in for Maritime companies especially in the domain of Bulkers, Tankers and Containers.
- Vessel Utilization: Automated chartering process leading to enhanced vessel utilization through automation by upto 20%
- Dry Dock & Maintenance : Data analytics & trends bringing down Dry Dock costs in range of 10% to 22% , bringing in preventive maintenance routine and reducing downtime
- Fuel: Efficient tracking & smart sensors keeping complete control on Fuel utilization and burn rate
- Master & Fleet Management : Live business dashboard enables higher visibility on to Master Mariner and Fleet across all vessels , including daily cost management
- Voyage Economics: Live tracking of daily economics across all vessels
- Port Procedures : Smart document management cutting time taken by upto 50% in port procedures and follow up documentation processes
- Inspection & Check Lists : Automated mobile driven processes saving more than 40% of the time in routine and repeated processes
- Business Margins : Block chain and cloud systems have in many places brought down broker/ agent margins , leading to higher bottom line for the ship management companies
Digital Automation in Maritime Industry is bringing percentage savings to the tune of upto 15% which directly goes on to enhancing the bottom line of the organization. With growing competition and complex business processes, there is very little left for companies to get a competitive advantage that is offered by disruptive technology platforms.
Expensive Ship Management Software, Shipping ERP, Navigation Applications are being replaced by cheaper, robust and flexible cloud applications on mobile that makes complete economic sense. Tons of data generated by Vessel, fleet, Cargo, Brokers, Agents, Customers are now put in a pattern to extract meaningful information with help of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. It is helping the companies to get rid of mundane and redundant tasks, improving overall efficiency and lowering the operational costs. And all these technologies are made available on handheld devices making it more convenient and user friendly, providing real time access to the required relevant data and information anytime and from anywhere.
Technology change is faster than ever: organizations now have a choice to reinvent themselves by being more responsive to the customer demands and dynamic market changes. Globally, maritime industry has been one of the late adopters of technology and unfortunately inefficient processes and traditional legacy methods have already impacted their profitability.
It is time for global shipping fraternity to embrace the possibilities that technology has brought in. The only way to turn around the sector is by consciously introducing digital automation across existing processes and connecting all dots.