Managing a disrupted market with Ocean Freight Visibility

The COVID-19 pandemic thrust the global supply chain into the spotlight like never before.

The domino effect caused by outbreaks and demand spikes around the globe caused one backlog after another, from Shanghai to Long Beach. The industry was stuck reacting to each step — from the North American demand boom to the container shortage in Asia to the lack of vessel capacity worldwide. Delivery terminals were still backlogged and overwhelmed when the Ever Given ran ashore in March 2021.

Further, the world shifted online during the pandemic. That transformation demonstrated just how clearly the supply chain lacked visibility. In a market with little to no product differentiation, enhancing visibility provides better service and stickiness for your brand, helping you stand out from your competitors and build long-term relationships with your customers.

In much the same way hospital emergency rooms around the globe filled up and pushed institutions beyond their capacity to deal with everyday emergencies, the shipping crisis exerted extreme pressures on the logistics sector. An exponential spike in grounded ships made obtaining replacement vessels impossible. Suddenly, commonplace crises became existential threats for shippers. It will still be years until things return to any sense of normalcy, but even when they do, companies will need to be better prepared for the next crisis and for rapidly shifting market conditions beyond their control.

Exploding freight rates won’t last forever, but the landscape may have shifted by the time they finally come back to earth. While larger companies may be able to work with partners to keep costs down, smaller entities are at the whims of a market that keeps getting tighter as demand remains high. They need the best possible insights to navigate this moment, as well as whatever comes next.

That means investing in a predictive, responsive system built for

. Knowing ahead of time what delays are expected and learning from historical data can help you be ready for the next challenge. A system trained on the latest port trends that delivers real-time updates can help you stay on target and optimize your ETA as conditions change.
You may not be able to do anything about a ship blocking the Suez Canal. But the right data and predictive insights can help you plan better and be the most responsive as real-world conditions change, from shifting weather to workforce shortages to backlogs at important ports.

The pandemic exacerbated nearly every issue that plagues the shipping industry, with various crises impacting ports, ships and the supply chain. Port congestion isn’t unique. But we’ve never seen this kind of global logjam, which may take several years to return to normal.

With so many challenges facing the industry at once, improving the quality and accessibility of your data is critical. Shipping companies are responding by modernizing their systems. Near the end of 2020, Maersk was making more than half its short-term bookings through its online spot platform.

Learning how backlogs happen and which link in the chain will be impacted next will help you anticipate and avoid the same problems in the future. A full 94% of Fortune 1000 companies have suffered supply chain disruptions because of the pandemic. People understand that disruptions are going to continue, but companies with resilient digital infrastructures will be able to provide alternative solutions and prove they’re ready to manage future challenges. Working with responsive and predictive AI will give you and your customers confidence that you’re one step ahead of the next crisis.

It will also allow you to break through the organizational silos that can lead to miscommunication between stakeholders. Relying on manually updated carrier websites simply leaves too much to chance. Lack of transparency and visibility means that when a vessel is discharged from a different terminal or a shipment is delayed at sea, human resources are diverted to manually fill the gaps and solve the problem, torpedoing efficiency and leading to further delays. Outdated tracking systems don’t deliver the quality of location data required within your company and demanded by the consumer.

Why would you settle for that uncertainty and extra burden when you could automatically be provided with continuous, real-time updates along every event of each container’s journey?

Although it may not be top of mind when thinking about your supply chain, a more efficient operation is also a more environmentally sustainable one. Freight forwarders can’t afford to ignore the coming regulations and pressures from stakeholders to be greener. Optimizing travel routes and operational efficiency through predictive analysis will save time and money and result in fewer emissions, improving both financial and environmental performance.

The pandemic’s most significant effect on shipping was to shine a light on the problems already endemic in the industry — that once a container is loaded on a vessel, tracking it and anticipating its arrival time remains a constant challenge.

With customer demand for transparency and real-time tracking greater than ever, the shipping industry has more stakeholders to please. That shift has coincided with all-time lows in schedule reliability, an issue that has persisted throughout 2021.

In addition to seeing reliability rates decline 30 or more points year-over-year, the industry saw average delays for late vessel arrivals continue to rise throughout the spring and summer, to more than 7.5 days.

With on-time reliability rates at an all-time low, why would you depend on a carrier’s manual information updates to know where your shipments are?

According to Windward’s own data, of nearly 19,000 shipments tested, 75% had differences between their first voyage ETA and their final ETA before arrival. In short, only 1 in 4 arrived on time. What impact does such low carrier reliability have on your own customers?

All the while, demand continues to rise.

These issues cause delays and backups throughout the supply chain, many of which aren’t discovered until nothing can be done about them. Accurately predicting and communicating disruptions and risks to on-time arrivals demands the right data and tools. Real-time, actionable insights on container delivery status help you predict the risk of delays or disruptions and avoid diverting costly resources to deal with the problem.

Of the major challenges facing freight forwarders today, Asiana USA puts fuel costs, environmental issues and customer service at the top of the list. Digitalizing operations will ultimately help freight forwarders improve operational efficiency, provide much-needed internal visibility to help solve problems, and make supply chains more consumer and environmentally friendly.

Despite  challenges in the industry, freight forwarding is expected to experience a 4% compound annual growth rate as the international trade market continues to grow. A centralized, digital system will give your employees the visibility to see if their pricing is in line with the market, manage their allocation, and verify their invoicing. Now more than ever, the institutional knowledge your employees bring will help you manage that growth as you transition into an integrated system.

In a space where disruption is the norm, customers understand that their shipments won’t necessarily arrive on the exact day and time predicted. But they expect transparency about where their box is and what is being done to ensure its delivery. Customers willing to pay a higher premium for a faster transit time will demand greater visibility to ensure their shipment is being delivered as promised. Relying on outdated manual systems reduces not only visibility but your ability to manage delays. With access to your own automated data, you can minimize disruptions and provide a superior customer experience.

With little market differentiation in freight forwarding, customers will simply choose to go elsewhere if you can’t deliver the right support. Tools that help you anticipate which shipments are likely to be delayed — and when they can actually be expected — can help you prioritize resources to best manage the most critical events. They can also potentially offer transit times and cost of multiple options, providing the customer with choices. This way, not only can you be up front and update your customers in advance, but you can plan the best alternative route before a damaging fallout.

An ocean freight visibility platform also provides an unprecedented level of granular data. It’s not enough to know roughly where a container is anymore, especially as cut-and-run practices have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Container-level insights allow you to track the exact status, location, route and progress of each container. This allows you to prioritize in advance so you can be best positioned if you have to make tough decisions amid shifting real world conditions.

Furthermore, just because a major change has happened doesn’t mean it’s been appropriately communicated to everyone who needs to know. Automatic alerts for delays and route changes remove human error from the equation, ensuring the message gets passed along in real time to every relevant party. This boosts efficiency in the supply chain process while easing planning of future sailing and port working time. It also allows you to keep your customers apprised and your team on the same page, no matter where they are in the world and where they’re headed next. 

Bottom line: ETA predictions automate tedious processes to save your employees time and hassle, and deliver insights to help you make more informed decisions.

It’s impossible to know what the future of the supply chain will look like. But end-to-end visibility is the top factor in building a successful supply chain, according to a recent survey of supply chain executives. Another study found that 90% of supply chain executives said visibility technology was a priority or a high priority. 

It’s easy to see why — if you can properly predict and identify roadblocks ahead of time, you can rebook those connections or switch from truck to rail. Automating estimated times of arrival can relieve headaches when delays stagnate the system. An accurate prediction system arms you with a wide array of potential solutions.

For over a decade, Windward’s Maritime AI has been applied across various industries and for a wide range of uses – from national security agencies identifying maritime threats, to financial institutions monitoring for compliance risks. Windward Maritime AI fuses multiple data sources to generate unique, real-time and actionable insights, and has been trusted by some of the most recognized brands and organizations to identify critical and time sensitive events. Now, freight forwarders can leverage the same award-winning capabilities to gain more control than ever before over their supply chain operations. 

Windward’s Ocean Freight Visibility fuses multiple sources using Maritime AI, including vessel movements, vessel characteristics, container status events, ports and terminal mapping, sailing schedules, vessel ownership structure, and more.  This patented process generates unique, actionable insights that allow you to track all your customers’ containers in real-time, all the time, and be immediately alerted when there is a risk of delay.