At the end of 2019, compared with other industries, the container shipping supply chain still lags behind in digitalization. However, under the epidemic situation, the digitalization of container shipping supply chain has gained the opportunity to accelerate the iterative implementation. 

One of the most important and time-consuming processes in the container shipping industry is the quotation process, which was mostly done manually by email. Therefore, one of the main goals of digitalization of container transportation industry is to realize the automation of freight purchasing process as much as possible. Shipping companies have been rolling out self-service tools for online inquiry and purchase of freight. Maersk and Herr Beurotte are the two fastest growing examples. Before the epidemic, only a small part of container freight was purchased purely online. The latest data shows that in the second quarter of 2022, the ratio of Maersk Spot reached 66%. For He Beurotte, 22.7% of their total bookings are processed online through their Quick Quotes-far exceeding their original strategic goal of reaching 15% by 2023! In the past 24 months, most major shipping companies have launched similar online service platforms, and freight forwarders are also stepping up their efforts in this field.

Another digital element is the so-called "transparency" visualization. Essentially, this involves information related to the freight status at any given point in time. To a large extent, this still depends on the data from the back-end system of the shipping company-usually through technically old EDI connections-and the quality of the data, including accuracy and real-time, is not satisfactory. 

Therefore, more and more tools and services are introduced to help build transparency visualization. Some of them rely on AIS data of ships, and use artificial intelligence to provide more accurate prediction related to expected arrival time. These tools are now available from both independent technology providers and some freight forwarders as services to their customers. Sensor technology has entered refrigerated containers in the form of remote access. Besides the location, it can also remotely access the real-time measurement of key elements such as air pressure, temperature and humidity conditions, so that these containers can join the Internet of Things. At present, shipping companies are also accelerating the promotion of this technology to dry cargo containers.

The continuous service interruptions and bottlenecks that have plagued the supply chain in the past two years also indicate the need to further develop digital shipping, some of which will emerge in 2023-24. The installation and development path of online trackers on all containers has been determined in advance to some extent. Because Beurotte has announced that it is the first shipping company in the world to equip all its standard containers with real-time tracking equipment, and will be able to monitor its containers and collect data to improve transparency. Some data will provide GPS-based location, temperature and any sudden vibration of the container. By the end of 2023, it will be able to track its entire dry container fleet. The company said that with the help of new technology, it will be able to gain visibility, find delays earlier, automatically notify customers who may be affected, and take appropriate countermeasures. This establishes a path, and shippers will increasingly regard obtaining such information as an "essential" part of shipping company services. It is expected that all major shipping companies will follow suit in the next few years.

The competition for online shipping space will intensify, and it is expected that the market will basically be divided into two camps. Some shippers and carriers sign long-term contracts related to the carriage of goods-these contracts themselves will be managed by a digital system, automatically taking into account any discrepancies of either party-but they are negotiated and agreed upon. The other part is the almost completely digital spot market. We will vigorously promote the establishment of more automated systems to detect and record the behaviors in the whole supply chain, so as to automatically determine if a fine needs to be paid. It's not enough to have data about the "blocked" position of the container-it's also necessary to have data to record who is responsible for this situation. This will be especially driven by the need for the United States to record the applicability of the provisions of the new maritime reform act, detention and demurrage. Therefore, the digital development launched in 2023-2024 will be tactical to some extent, because they will become practical solutions to the upcoming market downturn. 

The development after 2024 will start before 2024, and some have already started, but they will play a role in a longer time span. A key element is to establish digital standards that allow all stakeholders to seamlessly exchange data. This work was started by the establishment of DCSA Digital Container Shipping Association before the epidemic. They have now established a series of key standards for the industry, and there will be more in the future. This is a key foundation layer, and it is going smoothly. At present, the key question is not whether DCSA has the ability to get the shipping companies to agree on the standard, because this is going well. The key point is that the shipping companies themselves implement the agreed standards in their own systems, which takes a long time.

The next 1-2 years will focus on providing data to all relevant stakeholders, while the period after 2024 is when we will begin to see how wider applications can really make use of available information. The emphasis will shift from being able to see what is happening and who is responsible, to anticipating problems that haven't happened yet, and preventing problems or at least reducing the impact or risk of said problems that will happen. 

This will also be the transition point where the business model of the shipping industry will begin to change slowly. With the availability of data and the ability to automatically exchange data among all relevant stakeholders becoming the new normal, the movement of goods from point A to point B–including the "movement" of any and all relevant information and documents. As long as everything goes according to plan, customers will expect that they don't need to do anything. But it will also lead to the fact that most shipments will be regarded as homogeneous goods-as long as everything goes according to plan, there is no distinction between different suppliers. 

This is where successful freight suppliers will shift their business focus. Competitive advantage will be transferred to two core elements closely related to digital shipping. One element is the ability to use data to predict problems. When designing networks and products, prediction is used strategically to reduce the structural risk of problems, and it will be used tactically to predict recent problems and avoid problems or mark problems for exception handling. The second element: exception handling. This is a combination of using data to quickly identify alternative options for customers and the knowledge of customer service personnel to help customers in these situations. Simply put: In digital supply chain, the most important competitive parameter will be the quality of customer service personnel to help when things don't go according to plan. It is this ability that will increase the value of committed customers related to specific brand shipping companies, which in turn can justify the premium. In short: the higher the digitalization of the industry, the more important it is to have highly experienced talents.

Decarbonization will be another factor that will benefit from the improvement of data availability. With the new zero-carbon ships gradually entering the fleet, it is essential to be able to clearly record how many "cabins" of a shipping company are truly zero-carbon ships. "Green" class will become more and more popular.

Finally, talk about the obstacles on the road to digitalization. One factor is the speed at which shipping companies implement digital solutions-this speed depends to some extent on the internal ability to handle such transformation projects. Digital transformation is not a simple matter of building or purchasing IT systems. It requires detailed planning of necessary changes in business processes, which require people to change their working methods. In other words, IT's a leadership challenge, not an IT challenge-it takes time to change deep-rooted work habits and sometimes even the company's culture.

Transformation also requires customers to change the way they interact with shipping companies. There are progressive customers who are obviously ahead of shipping companies-these customers provide a strong "driving force" for the transformation. However, many customers themselves are in the early stage of digital transformation of supply chain, which means that the adoption of new automation tools may slow down, because not all customers are ready. 

The last obstacle-or challenge is a better word-is the element of network security. Basically, it is certain that we will see multiple examples of successful cyber attacks on the supply chain in the next few years-as we have seen in recent years. This should not be used as an argument to prevent digital transformation, but as a risk indicator, that is, security must be considered in all solutions from the beginning, not just added as an afterthought at the end of the project.