Digitalisation is on everyone’s lips in the transport industry. But what does it actually mean and what can we do to promote the industry’s digital development? In this article, I will share my thoughts about what impact the digitalisation will have on the transport industry and why I believe the digitalisation has a great potential to improve the quality of your transport.
A great need to digitalise the transport industry
The transport industry is in great need of a digitalisation. A more digitalised workflow within the industry will benefit the whole transport chain and all parties involved. So far, the digitalisation has not come a long way in the transport industry. However, due to the growing digital interest among the actors on the market and the great potential for development, the digitalisation takes an increasingly larger role in the industry and will continue to do so in the future.
Save time by minimising errors, plan ahead and make long-term decisions
An increased digitalisation will transform the transport industry in many positive ways. Mistakes can easily happen when physically writing and handing over documents. Digitally stored information has the potential to minimise errors and problems, which will save a lot of time and lead to a clear communication throughout the entire transport chain. In addition, processes such as booking a transport, tracking down goods and managing invoices will become both easier and more efficient. Storing large quantities of information online not only enables you to plan ahead in a completely different way, but also allows you to make better and more long-term decisions in your logistics flow when it comes to orders, purchase, volumes and quantities.
Improved environmental performance by taking smarter routes
Digital solutions will also be beneficial for the environment since it will lead to a reduction in the number of shipments and create a better flow of goods with higher delivery performance. MONALISA 2.0 is an example of a European project that gave rise to the concept of Sea Traffic Management using an information exchange network. By permitting a maritime Internet to share data onboard the vessels, all parties in the maritime chain can improve their operations. Ports will have up-to-date data on all vessels and can plan accordingly. Each captain will also receive information about port availability, and can thus optimise the route. This allows for cargo to move more speedily through the transport chain. Vessels will save fuel and costs by taking safer and smarter routes and adapt their speed to match the availability of ports services, resulting in greatly improved environmental performance.
Simple, user-friendly and standardised digital solutions
The bigger companies in the industry have come further in their digitalisation processes, compared to the smaller companies that are more cautious. However, there is a common need in the industry for simple, user-friendly and standardised digital solutions. Before these solutions can be created, the industry must start communicating their needs. In addition, the industry must take the plunge and dare to change. The will to adjust to market needs and be flexible in our industry is also the big challenge with the digitalisation. After all, the digitalisation is transforming our industry whether we like it or not. Therefore, transport companies have to be prepared to adjust and adapt if they want to stay in the business and continue to be competitive.
Technical knowledge and understanding will become more important
We predict a great change in the industry in the future where new actors will take more responsibility in the transport chain. A deeper technical knowledge and understanding will be more important in the recruitment of new employees. In the near future, the seller might be able to use a mobile app to book a transport right away as well as issue an invoice on the spot? Or, maybe you can sit on a remote beach and order a transport, without being present at the office? Even the Bill of Lading, one of the world’s oldest transport documents, will be digitalized.
We look forward to contributing to the digitalisation of our industry
For us, at Greencarrier Liner Agency, it is important to be responsive, listen to the market and adapt our digital development accordingly. We want to find new solutions together with our customers and suppliers. We welcome the digitalisation into the transport industry and have already started to digitalise certain parts in our transport chain, relating to booking and invoices. We have an active internal process where we analyse the market as well as discuss and follow up on ideas. In addition, we have started a project where we are creating a digitalisation strategy. We look forward to introducing digitalisation into our organisation even more and also contribute to the digitalisation of our entire industry.
Share your thoughts about the digitalisation in the transport industry! What are your needs, worries and thoughts about this subject? We encourage you to comment this article below or in our social media channels.
