Intermodal looks to the future

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

can leave comments for those considering working with a provider. These comments cover everything from the swiftness of replies to the upkeep of data.

This high-level vetting and peer-to-peer partner reviews enable others to make the most informed decisions possible before committing to a new business relationship.

CUT OUT THE WASTE Matchlog’s CEO and founder, Dhruv Taneja, took the stage to explore the concept of a zero-waste cargo network. Focusing on ports in India as case studies, Taneja walked the crowd through several scenarios where the levels of empty journeys taking place are, simply, unacceptable to industry. Taneja examined incidents where vessels with 30 per cent empty space were still making journeys - a costly and environmentally damaging practice.

To combat this, Matchlog’s platform provides shippers and logistics companies with the chance to ensure that every cargo, equipment and mode of transport – container, body truck, trailer, rail, vessel – on the platform is running fully laden at all times. This is done by harnessing network-connected transport routes, machine learning and an understanding of patterns and flows for cargo and containers through ports to pair items and generate the most feasible and optimised system for the supply chain. Currently, there have been more than 3.2 million pairings on the platform to improve logistics based on cargo size, nature and routings.

WAKEY WAKEY To round out the optimisation and collaboration talks was Wakeo’s founder and CEO, Julien Cote, who explained how, although digitisation has provided a hefty amount of data and historical information for shippers to use, it is often “fragmented and heterogeneous as it comes from a multiplicity of forwarders and carriers’ proprietary systems”. Wakeo provides software-as-a-solution (Saas) to bring real-time tracking on international transport flows, whether they are on land, sea or in the air. The Saas developed by Wakeo turns a historically reactive market into a predictive one as tracking, alerting and analytics are all heightened through the software.

However, an obstacle being faced due to the massive boom in digital software means that there are now competing systems such as ERP, TMS and WMS; connectivity issues are the last thing needed when purchasing a software to improve connectivity in the chain. Fortunately, Wakeo is compatible with all systems and can be custom-designed to ensure it interacts smoothly with existing systems being used by a specific business.

The presentations during the session prompted a lengthy and in-depth question-andanswer period that had to be cut short due to a lack of time. The audience was interested to hear more about the use of different currencies on platforms aimed at global audiences, and details about specific security procedures. There was a very high level of engagement between all presenters and the audience, often with some questions bouncing between the members on the stage and about their own platforms would be affected.

BACK TO ROTTERDAM Exhibitors reported themselves happy with the 2019 Intermodal Europe and many were looking at rebooking for 2020 and arranging future meetings with attendees that will also be coming back. “It’s always nice to see so many familiar faces and to see how the reaction of people we talk to changes over time,” says Florian Frese, marketing and communications at Container xChange. “The first time we attended Intermodal in 2015, it was so hard to attract people to our stand and now we have to increase the size of our stand to accommodate everyone.”

Intermodal Europe 2020 will take place between 6 and 8 October at the Rotterdam Ahoy Centre. Full details and booking information can be found on the event website. www.intermodal-events.com

EACH NOVEMBER, INTERMODAL EUROPE OFFERS A

SHOWGROUND FOR PRODUCT AND SERVICE SUPPLIERS

IN THE CONTAINERISED CARGO SPHERE, WITH PLENTY