How To Improve Container Shipping Productivity?

The demand for container shipping is expected to increase well into the future, despite the increase in freight costs for the shippers and the high cost of bunker fuel for liner ship operators. As such, existing maritime shipping lines should expect the competition to provide shipping services to increase as well.

While the larger companies are expected to transport the bulk of all freight cargo across continents, the smaller maritime shipping companies still remain indispensable. These shipping lines are mostly responsible for transporting cargo between smaller islands, and across bodies of water that are too shallow or too narrow for vessels such as Maersk Line's Triple E class.

How can your company match with the big players of the industry?

The best way to increase your shipments is by improving your services. The best way to do this is by improving your productivity. Adapt business solutions such as container management software to improve the stowing and lashing of precious containers. Port disbursement software also helps secure documentation regarding cargo shipments no matter how large the traffic is at your ports. Investing in complete integrated shipping software is also beneficial because these usually come with a CRM software that allows better management of shipments and customers.

Staying ahead in business is always important, no matter what industry you are in. If you have a big name competition, then all the more reason for you to invest in advanced business solutions that will give you more leverage. There are plenty of shipping software companies who develop software for shipping lines that are easily customizable, you need only to look for the best and most suited for your business model.

5 Reasons Why Investing In Maritime Software Solutions Is A Must

The technology industry is the one industry whose developments provide positive improvements for all other industries. Even the maritime shipping industry is a benefactor of the progress achieved by information technology. This can be clearly seen with the evolution of machinery and systems used by everyone from the container ship crew to the dockers who load their cargo.

In comparison to other industries, large shipping lines are the ones who adapt to technological advancements easily, while the smaller operators of marine cargo vessels often need a little more convincing. Smaller maritime shipping companies who have yet to adapt integrated shipping software in their operations will find that it will add profound improvements in their services. These improvements include:

1. Faster and more secure service at ports using port disbursement software, container management software, and feeder shipping software.
2. More profits for each individual voyage using voyage estimation software and voyage calculation software.
3. Effortless communication between logistics partners and cargo recipients with custom ERP solutions and CRM.
4. Safer documentation and adherence to existing maritime policies and regulations using liner principal software and NVOCC software.
5. More reliable cargo container integrity using container repair software.

There are other maritime software available that small shipping companies can greatly benefit from. While these software are available individually, their greatest benefit can be achieved using enterprise-wide software suites for complete streamlined operations. All these business solutions can be easily acquired from shipping software companies. It's all just a matter of choosing which software will provide the best benefit for maritime shipment.

The Need For Improvement In The Shipping Industry

Despite rapid advancements in technology, container ports throughout the globe still operate on inefficient industry practices that often cause hours of delay, unintended damage to consignments and even loss of cargo (through theft) - not to mention pose various safety and security risks for the stevedores. These shipping issues are further compounded by documentation problems such as bill of lading fraud and rampant misdeclaration of cargo weights.

Systematic and centralized port operations are difficult to achieve, especially for the shipping industry where accountability for consignments are continuously transferred from one shipping agency to another throughout the cargo transportation process. This is a problem faced not only by private port operators but a constant challenge even for established ports around the globe.

Innovative and technological business solutions should be the focus of international shipping and maritime organizations to reform outdated processes in the shipping industry. Having advanced maritime software solutions will help a shipping agency streamline performance, sustainability and productivity throughout port operations. For example: there are feeder shipping software available that will significantly enhance cargo transportation, loading and unloading; container management software that will improve cargo stowage planning and ensure safety; and even port disbursement software that help secure all port transactions.

Shipping organizations and shipping software companies who wish to further improve port efficiency can participate in Singapore’s New Generation of Container Port (NGCP) Challenge, where development of innovative concepts and proposals will be sponsored by Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) in the hopes of revolutionizing the container port industry.