Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/1488405
44 Journal of Commerce | J anuar y 2, 2023 www.joc.com EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY ANNUAL REVIEW & OUTLOOK 2023 Maritime chain disruption is a constant and tests every company. The pandemic also elevated the importance of logistics' role in business and socie- tal impact. The risk of supply chain dis- ruption is a constant. Supply chains need to be resilient, with multiple contingencies in place that are easily implemented with speed and accountability. Crowley Maritime Tom Crowley Chair and CEO crowley.com If we have learned any- thing over the last three years, it's that what worked yesterday may not serve us tomorrow. Change is guaranteed. Achieving — and enhancing — supply chain integrity requires partnership and innovation at every step. Our industry must continue to pursue ways of getting the job done that are reliable, more efficient, and better for the planet and genera - tions to come. And we must do it by developing and supporting a mar- iner workforce that embraces and advances this change. Unlike any time before, we can bring advanced technologies and analytics to meet a growing demand for fast, transparent movement of cargoes. The digital transformation under way is augmenting our ability to manage supply chains for the better, and it requires new ways of partnering and better use of technol - ogy to see the world for how it will be, not how it was. This is resulting in changing supply chains, such as nearshoring by producers in Central America that requires dynamic rethinking of supply chains. In the same vein, our global climate crisis requires long-term, science-based solutions and commit- ment versus quick fixes. To innovate responsibly, there is an urgent and intensifying need for the private and public sectors to collaborate, share ideas, and jointly commit to a clean energy future with a unified goal. That is why we are working to reduce the environmental footprint of value chains involving ocean transport, the greenest way to transport goods. Amid the change, we can rely on a few constants. Communities, cus - tomers, and government still depend on us for supplies that help them thrive. They count on us to invest in new tools and systems to avoid and bounce back from threats to busi - ness disruption, as demonstrated by this year's active hurricane season. And they deserve transparency through whatever challenges or successes are facing the industry. Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) Thomas Bagge CEO dcsa.org Three key challenges face container shipping in 2023: resil- ience, sustainability, and moving the industry toward paperless trade. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the supply chain's funda- mental lack of resilience, an issue now high on the agenda and attract- ing board-level attention. To improve resilience, two things must increase — visibility and flexibility. Currently, supply chain partners lack the data they need for visibility into key shipping events. Better visibility allows cus - tomers to take decisions based on timely notification of exceptions and increases resilience by giving stakeholders enough time to make alternative operational plans. The challenge is to move away from man- ual, paper-based processes toward standardized digital data exchange. This can only be enabled by interop- erable systems that leverage digital Cosco Shipping Lines (North America) Paul Nazzaro Executive Vice President world.lines.coscoshipping.com/na/ The container shipping industry has been in a perpetual state of enhance- ment since conception, but these innovations have historically been focused on specific aspects at selected times. What we have witnessed over the past three years is an evolution in all segments of trade, yet not on a preemptive timetable. Unexpected, considerable growth did not align effectively with global supply chain infrastructure, leaving all to impul - sively reassess how they transform to support a rapidly changing consumer culture. Debilitating ocean terminal congestion; rail, truck, and warehouse limitations; and labor challenges were all worsened by episodic insufficiency of infrastructure and technology. All the while, the underlying needs of our customers — to move cargo from origin to final des - tination as efficiently and reliably as possible — never changed. This necessity resulted in cargo moving in the least restrictive and most dependable route at the time of booking. Often that was not standard, which led to many modifications, not the least of which was a swing to the East and Gulf coasts. As a result of this volatility, our custom - ers' requirement for increased visibility into all aspects of their logistics chain, and how to strengthen them to han - dle a repeat shock, became a renewed priority. We are beginning to see soften - ing of demand. However, we are still observing the redefinition of how cargo will transport and inventory, thus the awaited new norm. How our customers will redefine their supply chains — whether they will embrace increased inventory and permanently shift away from the traditional just-in-time model or return to pre-pandemic standards — is yet to fully emerge. We will likely see a blend of both. This, cou - pled with anticipated instability, will see challenges remaining abundant as we enter 2023. Carriers will continue to expand their scope of services and improve supply chain visibility. The more end-to-end solutions a carrier can offer to its customer, the more value it can deliver for all in the industry. "The more end-to-end solutions a carrier can offer to its customer, the more value it can deliver for all in the industry." ◀ "Our global climate crisis requires long-term, science-based solutions and commitment versus quick fixes." Tom Crowley ▶ "Three key challenges face container shipping in 2023: resilience, sustainability, and moving the industry toward paperless trade. " Thomas Bagge