As the global shipping alliances complete their reorganization and launch their new networks on April 1, 2017, big data software provider CargoSmart Limited has launched Route Master, a tool which the company hopes will help guide shippers through the ensuing changes.

“Route planning is very critical in maintaining an efficient supply chain for shippers,” said Lionel Louie, chief commercial officer of CargoSmart. “In recent years, there were many outside factors that made choosing the optimal routes from the best-performing carrier for shippers more complex. The Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy last September caught a lot of shippers off guard, with their cargo boarded on Hanjin-operated vessels even though it was not contracted with Hanjin.”

According to CargoSmart, the solution allows shippers to discover and optimize container shipping routes, automatically determining the best routes based on parameters such as transit time, reliability, cost and carriers. It will display information such as vessel operator, port arrival reliability and whether a route belongs to an alliance network. Users will be able to search and compare routes that are between three months in the past and six months into the future.

“Increased carrier consolidation and the formation of new alliances have made dynamic data intelligence critical to supply chain success,” said Louie. “We believe that CargoSmart’s in-depth analysis of the ocean transportation market and experience leveraging big data can help customers navigate the new reality of ocean shipping.”

The tool is in beta release and is available for shippers and logistics service providers to try for free. Under the product roadmap for Route Master, CargoSmart plans to eventually be able to help shippers not only with their shipment planning, but also with their operations. A paid version including this additional functionality is being developed by the design team and is expected to be released later this year.

“We aim to let different parties leverage our tool to collaborate and improve their daily shipment execution,” Louie said.

CargoSmart analyzed carrier and alliance pro forma schedules across the major trade lanes to look at some of the major changes that shippers will experience. On the trans-Pacific trade, for example, the new alliance structure results in 18% fewer direct routes, with 33% of routes having transit times shorter or longer by three or more days compared to the former offerings.

The company also found differences in the number and size of vessels calling at US and European ports.

“We found that most of the top US ports will have fewer visiting vessels for each alliance service,” Louie said. “In addition, the average vessel size by TEU capacity for the alliance services will increase at most of the top US ports. For most of the top European ports, the average vessel size for the alliance services will increase.”

For example, the Port of Savannah will see 19 rather than 23 alliance services and the number of vessels will fall from 246 to 213, but the average vessel capacity will increase from 7,500 TEUs to 8,100 TEUs. The Port of Hamburg will see five fewer alliance services but the number of vessels will rise from 180 to 193, with the average size going up from 14,300 TEUs to 14,900 TEUs.

“With the expected number of alliance vessels on the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trades visiting the top US ports decreasing by 17% and the average alliance vessel capacity increasing by 5%, we anticipate that the new alliance services will be operating less capacity overall at the top US ports,” said Louie. “At the individual port level, the ports that are expected to have more visiting vessels and with a greater average TEU capacity could experience an initial impact on operations as the ports adjust to the possible new volumes, such as Houston, Miami, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp and Southampton.”

With the alliance reshuffle as well as more consolidation activity on the way, CargoSmart is confident it is doing its part to address the lack of transparency of the changes and the resulting impact on shippers.

“For example, they may not know the actual vessel operator when they make a booking, and it is possible that even if they book with different carriers, all their shipments will end up on the same vessel,” Louie said. “Leveraging big data analytics, we can help shippers gain visibility into the new alliance networks so they can adjust their shipment plans and downstream supply chain activities accordingly.”

By Jeffrey Lee

Asia Cargo News | Hong Kong