The rise of new technologies and the increase in demand for resources have transformed the maritime industry. Several relevant major technological innovations push automation and digitization including autonomous shipping, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, digital twins, data analytics, etc… All these new technologies are shaping the industry today, and it is crucial for businesses to understand and adapt to them, in order to ensure the continuity in the future of the maritime industry.

I don’t want to brag, but in my village many people know me. Correction: they know me when I have my four-legged furry friend walking next to me. The very few and rare times my service dog doesn’t accompany me, I find myself less famous than I like to think. What does my service dog have to do with our industry and the way we trust technology you might wonder. Good question, here we go.

Unintentionally I’ve always been connected to the maritime industry in some way. Growing up at the shores of the Westerschelde I watched vessels passing by to the port of Antwerp or the Noordzee and on the Canal from Ghent to Terneuzen. With a small detour I came back to my roots and these days I live close to the Westerschelde again. I walk my dog four times a day on the dike and in all those years the vessels sailing to and from Antwerp have grown. Not only in size, but also in number. It might be one of the most visible changes, but these days the maritime industry is going through an impressive transformation. Yes, it’s the D-word: digitalization.

The last three years Sander was our Sales and Marketing manager. He continues his journey separately from Teqplay. In his final blog Sander shares his reflections on the process of digitization.

Alongside suppliers… We like to think they’re the reason why your port calls always take unnecessarily long… But is it legitimate? When we talk about optimising the port call, we also talk about alongside suppliers. The cause of delays, the reason for a lot of communication and difficult for them to fulfil agreements.  But I wonder if this is the real cause of delay, and it is surprising that suppliers say the same about their customers’ port calls.

During my holiday in France, I was able to feast on the delicacies the country has to offer.
I like to cook in my spare time and on the weekends, and trips like this give me new inspiration for cooking. Cooking is in many ways similar to the maritime supply chain. How? A number of things are essential for obtaining the best possible results. Think about timing, the right tools such as pans and knives and – of course – fresh ingredients.

I am a lover of social discomfort. Discomfort breaks down barriers and situations that have been maintained unnecessarily for a long time. It also brings humour or new insights to many situations. This blog is about social discomfort, and integrating high quality ETA’s as a key component to be in control of your terminal operations.

The common mantra in the shipping industry is that the world is unpredictable and complex. The industry sticks to its firm belief that the capability to react to unexpected changes delivers the actual value. But what if you can be truly proactive? Informed decision making is the way forward. This is how you do it, in 7 steps.

In our role of service provider, we have the luxury of meeting great people and companies all over the world. Besides local differences, we see the role of the agent being of equal importance between Singapore, the USA, Scandinavia and the ARA region. Personally I always make the comparison between the agent and the conductor of an orchestra. Yes, all the musicians know how to play their part, but you need the conductor to guide and keep the beat. We identify four challenges for agencies.