Maersk started as a family business at the beginning of the last century, operating as a shipping company for specific products and on-demand transportation. Over the years, it has diversified many times, expanded in many different industries (such as energy and food), until it finally took shape and became what it is today: the market leader in shipping and transportation, holding 19% of the shares. Total market share. Maersk’s main business focus is container transportation. In addition, Maersk operates four companies: a container manufacturer, an APM division, a freight forwarding company, and a maritime industry security supplier. In 2014, Maersk realized the complexity of the current transportation process and began to cooperate with IBM to investigate the process related to paperwork. They see that many processes in the transportation industry are people-oriented, and information is only provided to the parties in direct contact. Another problem is the amount of paperwork for transportation, which takes a lot of time. There is another option for transferring data, which is via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). Both methods of transmitting data are linear structures, which means that the information available at the source is not available at the destination.
When IBM and Maersk started looking for solutions for the transportation industry, they evaluated blockchain technology. This technology provides “tracking and tracing options” for all stakeholders. IBM has proposed a permissioned blockchain where people can know who they are doing business with, rather than anonymously. In 2017, Maersk and IBM announced their Global Trade Digitalization (GTD) platform. GTD will be a neutral platform that can be used by all stakeholders in the ecosystem.
External situation
Accelerating Technological Progress
Technology nowadays is accelerating very rapidly. One of the most significant innovations in technology is cryptocurrency. This new form of online payment is being secured by blockchain technology. Blockchain technology can also be used in the containership industry to secure logistic companies against fraud. Nowadays the container industry is relying heavily on physical documents, paper, and stamps. The container industry is not a little behind, but a lot. Making a switch in their operation by using blockchain technology will not only have the container industry allow to keep up but will allow them to be upfront.
The Green Revolution
The attention our earth is gaining is also increasing rapidly. We as humans must be more sustainable with our resources and discover new methods to leave a smaller footprint on our environment. If we continue without any adjustments to our methods of doing business, we will keep polluting our planet. The containership industry also leaves a footprint on our environment. Sometimes goods that are traveling around the earth are spending more time in ports than on the ocean. This is simply wasting energy, location, and time and by developing new innovative methods to move goods around the globe we can reduce this waste.
More Pressure on Ports
Ships in the logistics chain are increasing in size. Some ships carry more than 20.000 containers. This increase in cargo is putting more pressure on ports. Especially the smaller ports have a hard time dealing with the large capacity and cargo. These problems within the logistics chain create delays, demurrage, and decreased customer satisfaction.
The Influence of Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are also giving the container industry increased pressure. Since the global economy is increasing, more cargo must travel the globe. New significant players in the world market stage are coming up and the container industry must be able to keep on this increasing demand.
Ocean Freight Rate Increase
In August 2019 the rate to ship a 40’ container from Asia to the West Coast of the USA was $1326 in 2020 the was became $3224 and rose to $18,425 in 2021. There are multiple reasons why this rate has increased so aggressively.
Port shutdowns (due to Covid-19)
People purchasing stuff instead of services
The fallout from the Ever Given in the Suez Canal
Passenger flight cancellations
Containers not getting where they need to be