As with everything in life, there comes a time when companies must make a decision that will inadvertently tip the scales and challenge their entire way of operation. Now is that time for shipping and energy.

We are on the cusp of change: the outbreak of Covid-19 has escalated the need for the adoption of digitalisation, with an urgency that can no longer be ignored.

The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) named digitalisation as a key theme for the maritime community, creating the Global Maritime Forum to increase awareness. It identified digitalisation as one of three top industry challenges, alongside safety and geopolitical pressures.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study determined only 7% of energy companies can be considered ‘digital champions’. In Singapore, several partners created the Maritime Digitalisation Playbook, to set a new framework for digitalisation.

There has been a conscious shift of focus towards integrating new solutions.

This need has also led to an increase in collaboration to enhance digitalisation. Maersk developed an internal data-driven application to reduce CO2 emissions and increase earnings by reducing bunker consumption by determining the optimal speed of each vessel.

It is now sharing the solution as an independent company — much as Stena Bulk has OrbitMi.

And now is the time to sink or swim where technology is concerned.

A man wearing a protective mask walks past the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co in June. Photo: Bloomberg

The winds are changing

We live in dynamic times: regulations are changing frequently, the actions of vessels leaving Venezuela instantly impacting the behaviour of ships on the other side of the world, while Covid-19 is challenging the execution of SIRE inspections, crew changes, and the role key shipping workers have on the global supply chain.

Recent events have increased the need for elaborate 'know your vessel” (KYV) processes. However, the manual tools used in the past are no longer viable. The only way for organisations to effectively meet new regulation is through digital processes.

But how does digitalisation start? Whose role is it to bring it to a company? And what role will technology will play within an organisation?

A new way of thinking

In my experience — working with BP, Gard, and others — change succeeds when leadership recognises the need. It is the role of CEOs, CFOs, and board members to drive the vision.

They are the ones who must create partnerships, both within and outside of their organisation, to further this goal. Leadership must also determine in what capacity they want digitalisation to impact their operations.

For those championing innovation, digitalisation of KYV is a win, and now, more than ever, this is what companies need. While digitalisation starts at the top, success breeds buy-ins and creates excitement that drives adoption.

Some companies want to strengthen a competitive advantage, others effectiveness and operational efficiency.

Pressing issues such as sanctions compliance, which have increased tenfold over the last few weeks, have created bottlenecks within legal and operations teams, leading many companies to seek digital solutions.

Ultimately, the digitalisation of an industry does more than aid its adjustment to change; it sets the foundation for adoption, improves agility and increases preparedness for the future. As such, it is an investment whose fruits will be picked for years to come.

The scales have been tipped

Digitalisation is a need, and the scales in shipping and energy have been tipped. Organisations such as Shell, Oldendorff Carriers, Van Oord, and more have appointed digital transformation champions or directors.

Others, such as BP and Chevron, are leveraging venture teams to identify not only good investments but companies with strategic value that can enhance their abilities, help them meet their goals, and drive digitalisation.

Winston Churchill said we should never waste a good crisis; Darwin said that those who survive aren't the strongest, but those that evolve best are.

In times like these, we, as an industry, must not waste this crisis and must evolve to the best of our abilities. This is a golden opportunity to grow, build on the know-how and expertise each company has in-house, and use technology to augment it and evolve.

It’s not about forgetting who we are, it’s about getting ready for the decade ahead.

Since the 2008 crisis, we see the companies that evolved then — such as AirBnB and Uber — are the market leaders of today, and many of those that did not evolve did not survive. In a decade from now, post Covid-19, where will your company be?

Ami Daniel is the co-founder and CEO of Windward,
a provider of maritime insight and technology innovation

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