PSA is pushing its role from being a traditional terminal operator to an end-to-end supply chain solutions provider citing the complex and ever-growing need of the market.

Tan Chong Meng, CEO of PSA International noted how disruptions brought in during the financial crisis a few years ago prompted the Singapore-headquartered company to look beyond ports and also provide solutions to its customers.

"Within our industry we saw players, who are within the logistics space, actually acquiring cross sector businesses as well. We took that as opportunity to reflect on our role as port operator and we realised we could not stay a port operator, but we also have the ability to look beyond our own boundaries and play a larger role within ecosystem of the end-to-end supply chain," Tan told a TOC Asia webinar as part of the Singapore Maritime Week.

"We felt logistics was a three-dimensional challenge. A lot of times we are focused on the physical flow, but we must not forget the regulatory flow and the financial flows. It’s only when these three flows move freely that we have a fully functioning supply chain."

He noted that to help shippers address these “three-dimensional” challenges, PSA introduced a new unit called Calista, a global supply chain platform that brings together key physical, compliance and financial activities of cargo logistics on a digital eco-system.

This, he said, focused on verticals whic needed solution including advanced manufacturing, chemicals, cold chain, and e-commerce.

"We formed this unit called Cargo Solutions to focus on regulatory enablement, to focus on intermodal seamlessness, and also on digital efficiency,"Tan said.

Meanwhile, the PSA chief noted that the coronavirus pandemic which he described as a "rude shock" to the industry, also cemented its earlier move to look beyond the role of being a terminal operator.

"[Covid-19] led us to be further motivated and be convinced that our move beyond ports and going into solutions has been the right one," he said.

Resilience, digitalization, sustainability

Moving forward, he noted that PSA expects a clear trend towards resilience, not just-in-time, but also just-in-case; that customer behaviours change; and that digitalisation will continue to accelerate. He said that sustainability will also become key in many operations ahead.

Tan went on to note that other recent disruptions like the recent Suez Canal blockage, further reinforced the need for end-to-end solutions.

"As supply chains were stretched containers were not getting back to manufacturers to be filled and loaded and ships were spending more time in ports. Even though we have not gotten over this the situation with the Ever Given totally surprised us and added to the complexity," the PSA International chief added.

With this disruption, he said demand from shippers also morphed not just for a supply chain that not merely works but is also sustainable.