Hapag-Lloyd has unveiled its new mid-term Strategy 2023, which will focus on service quality and profitable growth.

According to Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping line is now more than two times larger than it was in 2014 in terms of transport capacity. Further consolidation amongst the largest players in the industry is also becoming less attractive due to decreasing incremental scale benefits. As a result, the industry has come to a turning point.

“Size is not the name of the game anymore, but customer orientation,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. “It is obvious that customers expect more reliable supply chains, so our industry needs to change and invest more. At the same time, we know that people are prepared to pay for value. Going forward, delivering value to get the most attractive cargo on board is at the heart of our new Strategy 2023. To be number one for quality is the ultimate promise to our customers and a strong differentiator from our competitors.”

Hapag-Lloyd’s Strategy 2023 is based on various elements, including key cost initiatives that focus on network optimization, terminal partnering and further improvements in procurement and container steering. Revenue management will be optimized to ensure that the most attractive cargo gets on board. The company is making changes to its structures, systems, processes and operations, focusing on delivering customers a better and more efficient experience in their supply chains.

Additional improvements aim to turn Hapag-Lloyd into a more agile, dynamic and analytically driven organization. The shipping line will make more investments in digitalization and automation to further exploit digital excellence. One example is to increase the share of online business to 15% of Hapag-Lloyd’s overall volume by 2023.

The company aims to achieve an EBITDA margin of approximately 12% by 2023. A cost-management programme with a savings run-rate target of US$350-400 million has been launched to ensure a competitive cost position is maintained after launching the strategy initiatives. A liquidity reserve of around US$1.1 billion will be maintained, according to Hapag-Lloyd.