With enormous amounts of goods and people transported by sea every day, the maritime industry is at the heart of the global economy. The globalization of trade has increased the demand for material and people flows, and the maritime industry continues to play a critical role in helping companies and nations prosper. Now digital transformation is changing the industry.
For a long time, the maritime industry focused on large vessels, powerful engines, radio signals, manual labor and seafaring craftsmanship. The situation has now changed. A technological shift is pushing companies to transform their ways of working, seek new ways to operate and take advantage of solutions in automation, sensors, robotics, AI and analytics. The fact that business models are shifting towards services also has a big impact.
At the same time, environmental concerns are being raised by governments, organizations and individuals. New, powerful technologies offer new opportunities for renewal, efficiency, growth and waste reduction. The maritime industry could have a beneficial influence on what kind of world future generations live in and retain its profitability, with data-driven technology delivering greener solutions while reducing operating costs. For example, choosing optimal weather conditions and routes for reduced fuel consumption not only saves costs, but has a real impact on the environment.
Changes in the maritime industry have a major impact on land, too. The people and cargo it transports eventually arrive at harbors and often continue their journey on land transportation. No one single company can fulfil the needs of the maritime industry. The logistics, processes and systems used connect with other relevant parties can form collaborative ecosystems with end-to-end optimised flows.
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