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EVER ONWARD EVENT REPORT • THIS YEAR’S INTERMODAL EUROPE EXHIBITION IN HAMBURG HAD PLENTY TO SAY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITISED SOLUTIONS AND THEIR EFFECT ON OPERATIONS THE HAMBURG MESSE was buzzing with opportunities this past 5 to 7 November as representatives from all sectors of the industry mingled at the Intermodal Europe show to discover new partners, catch up with old faces and come away with some newfound information. Attendees were treated to plenty of new products on the exhibition stands, ranging from the latest technical developments in tank container units to cryogenic valves, but the main discussion points revolved around digital solutions. Digitisation is revolutionising the industry and the number of solutions and
platforms associated with it have provided new possibilities for businesses. Transparency and visibility are now available at a level never before experienced and the ease of trading on dedicated online platforms has changed how the very fundamentals of chemical trades are carried out. OPTIMISED COLLABORATIONS Set to the side of the hall, the conference areas were awash with attendees hoping to get a stronger understanding of new concepts, seek solutions for industry-wide issues and perhaps find a new business opportunity. Over at the
Innovation Theatre, the discussion around container optimisation and platform collaboration kicked off with Boxxport founder and CEO Jan Frahnert delving into how marketplace providers such as Boxxport can provide benefits around the world. The aim of Boxxport is to enable its users – from local retailers to global players – to make trading faster, more efficient and fully transparent. Frahnert explained that there are four major benefits of the platform for users: market transparency, speed of use, convenience and low transaction costs. These are of course big benefits for both buyers and sellers, which is why Boxxport’s list of users is growing rapidly. Those looking to sell on the platform can trade on a whole new level of business thanks to real-time information and relevant insights, allowing for instant reactions to any market trends or movement. Boxxport buyers can scale up from local to global in seconds on the platform, while also being able to digitally manage an entire fleet with the cloud-based business solution and utilise the real-time insights. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Christian Roeloffs, managing director at Container xChange, focused on the mitigation of risk and why trading in a global market is an inherently risky business. Roeloffs looked at what steps are currently being taken to reduce risks in the industry, such as: relying on anecdotal evidence from an existing network, the press, search engines, ‘gut feeling’, personal meetings, using reports on bank guarantees and credit assessments, and spending time and resources on ‘watertight, triple checked’ contracts and expensive lawyers. But the limitations of these processes are clear to see: they do not take place in real time, they can frequently be expensive, scalability is almost non-existent, and they can be frequently prone to errors. Furthermore, these issues can be intensified by business complexity, the growth and expansion of networks and the onset of total global connection. The question posed by Roeloffs was: “Surely, in today’s ‘digital age’, there must be a better way?” Container xChange has been designed to include performance overviews of users – a form of rating system – where previous users
HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2019
