Exchanging real-time data allows profits to be maximized and value to be added through improved situational awareness, predictability, and planning horizons where everyone is involved.
How many times have we experienced an inconvenience, caused by delays and misaligned activities? How many times have we borne extra cost in consequence of receiving the “latest” update far too late?
Here at Awake.AI, we have decided not to accept this anymore. Therefore, on June 16th, 2020, we introduced a collaborative and open data platform for all maritime logistics actors. Our platform not only serves as a facilitator to form and maintain a smart port ecosystem, but also meets the needs of every actor participating in the end-to-end cargo flow.
We have achieved this by successfully utilizing and implementing the latest advantages and digital innovations in the modern cloud platforms, as well as in web and mobile technologies.
However, to transform the traditional supply chain communities into an all-encompassing smart ecosystem, we need collaboration to shift the industry to the next level. By itself, this cutting-edge technology is not enough. Collaboration is the glue that bonds the various actors into a healthy symbiosis and builds viable relationships. I will hereby point out some of the key elements needed to create a sustainable ecosystem.
Bringing all logistics actors together is a very challenging and ambitious task. It is not easy to pinpoint a single essential contributing factor to support an effective collaboration, but we can assuredly state that at least one of the crucial components is trust. Once established between the participants with their own goals and strategies, trust enables open and honest communication. Fluent communication allows real-time information exchange and knowledge sharing. Receiving the latest changes as soon as possible, with reliable information, provides considerable support to the decision-making process.
Informed decisions also lead to significant cost and time savings. The enabler in the sharing process is a mechanism called “Give and Take.” We cannot expect to receive if we are not ready to give. We shouldn’t maintain a balance between “Give’” and “Take,” as “Take” is always much greater than “Give.”
A good example is the ETA of a ship. The ship is one actor in the supply chain, which produces and shares its own ETA, and all other actors utilize its information. In this case, the “Give” value is one, and the “Take” value can reach dozens, as it equals the number of ecosystem actors using the ship's ETA.
The underlying question in shifting to open and honest communication is not why to do it, but rather how to do it. What are the limiting factors? Is it the commercial pressure, or maybe the fear of forming an imbalance in competitive advantage? Ultimately, it is the human factor that blocks the industry from progressing to the next level.
The time to reassess our values and priorities has come. By utilizing the potential of the Awake.AI’s platform today, we have the power to communicate and share information instantly. Exchanging real-time data allows profits to be maximized and value to be added through improved situational awareness, predictability, and planning horizons where everyone is involved. Moreover, regardless of position and role in the supply chain, everyone will benefit. Thus, we must open our minds and embrace this opportunity to start collaborating.