If you run a shipping business, you need to understand the changing business landscape and adapt to it if you want to survive. Like most areas of our lives, technology is having a huge impact on the way that the shipping industry operates and how it interacts with other sectors. As a business owner, you need to have a clear understanding of what the big changes are likely to be so you can change your operations to accommodate them. These are some of the big ways that technology is changing the shipping industry.
Eco-Friendly Vehicles
Eco-friendly vehicles have taken the world by storm and many people are adopting electric vehicles in order to protect the planet. Although the technology is still in its early stages, it will continue to become more commonplace in general society and in the shipping industry. A lot of companies have already started investing in electric trucks and some governments overseas have committed to using more emission-free ships. The average consumer is more concerned with environmental issues than ever, and they want to buy products with a responsible supply chain from start to finish. This means that shipping companies that are not willing to adopt eco-friendly vehicles will struggle in the future.
Online Job Sourcing
In the past, shipping companies would find work through traditional marketing methods and there was a lot of networking involved. But like many other industries, the way that shipping companies source their clients is changing due to the influence of the internet. There are some great sites like Shiply where you can find online job boards with lots of shipping jobs to bid on. In the future, companies will be leaning on these online job boards more, which means that shipping companies willing to adopt this new method of sourcing work will grow faster. So, it’s important that you change the way you think about sourcing work.
Driverless Vehicles
Environmental issues are not the only thing changing the way that shipping companies use their vehicles. Driverless vehicle technology has advanced a lot over the last few years and there are some options available for driverless trucks. These are not widespread at the moment and the technology that underpins them still needs a lot of work. However, driverless vehicles have a lot of benefits because they can drastically cut your staff costs. Companies that adopt driverless vehicle technology from the outset will soon be able to pass those savings onto their customers. Shipping companies that don’t get on board with driverless technology will soon find that all of their competitors are undercutting them and there is no way they can match their prices.
Many people don’t realize it but there is potential for driverless ships, controlled remotely from the shore. This technology doesn’t exist right now but there are plenty of people out there trying to make it a reality.
