Transforming for People Needed in Breakbulk
By Martin Wallgren
The next generation of professionals set to shape the breakbulk market is wired to embrace technology.
Though fleet complexity, business fragmentation and intense competition between containers and bulk continue to influence the sector, digitalization has been a key to survival through the Covid-19 pandemic. But digitalization alone is not enough to drive its future success. That will require the successful interface of intelligently applied technology with human talent.
Management teams must understand the role and potential of data integrations, data governance, cyber security, and modern solutions such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. New recruits starting their careers are tech-savvy; they have grown up with the Internet. They have been digitally literate almost since kindergarten, and they are already playing an integral role in shaping company culture to harness the power of digitalization.
Staff numbers in many organizations are down as a result of the “great resignation,” which has seen a rise in the number of employees quitting to seek schedule flexibility and better work-life balance. It’s a loss that is being felt especially keenly in the labor-intensive breakbulk sector, where companies offer a complete logistics solution including engineering, risk assessment and logistics planning.
It is getting harder to maintain the data and insights that executives need to make informed decisions, so increasingly businesses are turning to their suppliers for the intel they need. For example, information on the status of spare parts was held by marine logistics providers responsible for picking, storing, consolidating and delivering them to vessels and offshore platforms. But now, asset owners and operators want to have that information at their fingertips, in their own systems, giving them greater control of their operations and enabling them to challenge poor supply chain performance in a bid to boost productivity and safety. We have gone from an “on demand” to a “just-in-case” scenario. Everyone wants to have control of their stock – just in case.
GAC has responded to these changing demands by expanding its systems and services. We invested early in creating an accurate data model of our business – a significant investment for an established global operator. But that data model is now paying dividends in many ways, including giving us the ability to operate as a “data transfer business” that can adapt in response to market changes, in a similar way that Uber did during the pandemic when it pivoted from taxi services to food delivery.
Our data model drives profitability, flexibility and resilience – qualities prospective new recruits will be on the look-out for as we emerge from the pandemic. We have worked hard to retain our global presence and local knowledge. Being physically present ‘on the ground’ engenders trust and confidence and enables us to roll out digital services for our shipping and transportation customers efficiently and effectively.
With its mature digital services and a dynamic culture enthused by new ‘big tech’ recruits, GAC is ready, willing and able to provide the information that the shipping and logistics industries need to chart their route through the challenges and opportunities to come.
Martin Wallgren is chief information officer at GAC Group.
