Fresh from announcing a blockchain tie up with IBM this week, Søren Skou, the CEO of A.P. Moeller-Maersk, has made a rallying call for further digital partnerships across the container supply chain.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Skou stressed: “Our industry must develop new technology and software solutions in open, innovative communities. We need to digitize from the inside of our business, but at the same time, finding the best solutions will require our industry to partner with companies across a wide range of industries.”
Skou predicted that soon shippers will interact within a digital one-stop shop that allows them to arrange all aspects of transportation at a single click, something he said will become like booking round-trip flights online.
“It is through technology that the complexity will be reduced, enabling us to develop new business models and promise a more efficient and coherent flow of goods,” Skou predicted.
He concluded the article with a warning that shipping needs to move fast or risk being usurped.
“The opportunities are enormous, but so is the possibility of disruption with the emergence of new competitors that were born digital,” the Danish shipping boss wrote.
