“In crisis, it is acceptable to have more questions than answers. In crisis, there’s no room for ‘not-invented-here’. In crisis, we should all be learners,” said H.R.H. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands at the OECD Future of Education & Skills 2030 Global Forum in June 2020, and how right she was. When the pandemic hit it was a shock – who could have foreseen this invisible enemy? And yet, we prevailed, we learnt, we adapted, and we are still here, after a new 3-week hybrid experience that we called TOC Connect.     

Why Connect?

Well…after a year and half meeting through a screen, our industry needed to (re)connect, shake hands -or bump elbows- and continue working towards efficient and sustainable maritime trade. TOC Connect merged our traditional TOC Europe & TOC Americas into one interregional event that transcended frontiers by bringing together leading industry experts from both sides of the Atlantic to address current and future challenges for the sector.  Over the course of its three-week programme, TOC Connect has covered port congestion & supply chain disruption, recovery strategies for the market, port infrastructure projects and their potential in developing new trade hubs, port-community interactions and inland logistics, the implementation of digital technology & cybersecurity guidelines, green transition, the transformation of port operations, etc. Discussions took place in both virtual and physical format, with the first week being virtual, with the spotlight on the Americas and the second week featuring a 2-day in-person conference in Rotterdam with the spotlight on Europe; the third week took place in virtual format and focused on specific technical topics such as the road towards decarbonisation and sustainability or TOS, and for the very first time, brought us a panel discussion featuring digitalisation as a means to optimize efficiency, delivered 100% in Spanish.

The importance of Supply Chain efficiency

Whether caused by the pandemic or by episodes such as the blockade of the Suez Canal, many have wondered when the supply chain -and maritime trade- will go back to normal. After TOC Connect, I’d like to say that normality has been reshaped. Logistics are now looking at strategies to prevent future disruption. Robbert van Trooijen, Regional Manager Director at Maersk for Latin America & the Caribbean, kicked off our programme with a keynote address where he highlighted the importance of simplifying the supply chain so that it can become more efficient given current market trends – in his view, its future efficiency does not lay in shipping but in logistics integration. Peter Levesque, President at Ports America, on the other hand, brought versatility in the supply chain to the discussion: With E-Commerce’s market share continuing to grow every day, the sector needs to adapt, diversify sources, and develop an omni-channel business model. To back up this opinion, we saw Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst from Bimco, stressing the importance of multi-modal movement of goods, both globally and regionally, as well as a faster vessel turnover. In the end, logistics integration will make the supply chain simpler and more efficient by developing a versatile business model to make it more resilient.
 

The development of multi-modal supply chain leads us to one of the key discussions that took place at TOC Connect: Port Infrastructure and its connectivity to the hinterland, or inland logistics. While Europe’s taking the lead in this aspect, the Americas, being a larger region with a much more complex geography, faces important challenges. Port infrastructure projects have been increasing gradually thanks to foreign investment, a trend that seems to accelerate because of port congestion, which increases the port’s competitiveness and leads to the potential development of new trade routes and special economic zones around the port. While attracting this investment proves challenging, particularly for medium-size and smaller ports, Patricio Junior, Director of Terminal Investment at TiL, outlined key action points such as special tax regimes, define a clear regulatory framework that ensures stability and ROI in the long-term, and simplifying processes. Moving beyond the port, we explored the connectivity to the hinterland. Antonio Torregrosa from Fundacion ValenciaPort mentioned that developing intermodal corridors is key to make ports more competitive and reduce risk of bottlenecks. Further to this, Ibai Erdozain from ALG addressed one of the main challenges for the modernisation and expansion of port infrastructure: Funding. According to Ibai, PPPs is a successful model where the public and private sector join ventures to improve inland logistics linked to the port. Whether it’s through concessions following the landlord model, or by PPPs, it is certain that a stable political scenario is crucial for investment in infrastructure to be feasible.

Digitization, Digitalisation & Digital Transformation

Another important topic, perhaps one of the most popular nowadays, was the integration of digital technologies to port and terminal operations. To contextualize the discussion, Ricardo Ortiz, COO at Logiety explained to us the difference between Digitization (the implementation of digital technology in everyday processes), Digitalisation (the integration of digital tools & cybersecurity protocols into business models and increasing revenue as a result) and Digital Transformation (revolutionizing the industry and overall shifting from paper to digital culture) – understanding the difference between these concepts should be the first step for all industry players looking to capitalize from digital technology.

From training staff in the use of novel digital tools, to optimizing customs and processes  with initiatives like the Single Maritime Window, or even advocating for innovation from the public sector and understanding cybersecurity guidelines, the sector needs to strengthen its collaborative efforts to ensure a common data language, standardized processes and, above all, changing its mindset – cybersecurity and digital transformation are not just a matter for the IT person to deal with, these are key business aspects that should be embraced transversally across ports and terminals. We keep hearing about new technologies -AI, 5G, Big Data, IoT, Blockchain, etc.- but technology itself is a means to an end, not the end itself. The sector needs to develop standardized metrics to measure the ROI from becoming a smart port, as well as the potential business repercussions of a cyberbreach.

Energy Transition: 'What comes first? The chicken or the egg...?'

Alongside the implementation of new technologies, the industry is also looking at becoming more sustainable and reducing its carbon emissions. With the IPCC’s recently published report on climate change and global warming, and the COP26 in Glasgow this November, the need for decarbonisation and transition towards non fossil fuels is more important than ever. However, and despite the multiplicity of initiatives across the sector, the roadmap remains unclear. Jacob Sterling, Senior Director and Head of Decarbonisation Innovation & Business Development at Maersk, has compared this the question to that of the chicken and the egg: Which comes first? What do we do first? Do we start by building vessels running on green fuels, or do we start by producing these fuels even if there aren’t any customers for it yet?  In his view, the required technology to start the transition is already existent; it is expensive -of course- but we need to start somewhere. On that note, Maersk is introducing to the market the world’ first carbon neutral vessel in 2023, and by 2024 its first series of 8 large carbon neutral ships will become operational, running on green methanol. However, new fuels are not enough – Jacob has stressed the necessity for building a new green ecosystem across all levels of the supply chain. Nico van Dooren, Director of New Business Development at the Port of Rotterdam, showcased the port’s production of clean fuels as well as their use in shore operations. He also stated that collaboration across the industry is key to effectively create these ecosystems and that big industry players should take the lead on this process. On that note, Elisabeth Munck, Global Sustainability Manager at IKEA, has showed the Swedish giant’s ambition statement of only purchasing zero emission shipping by 2040. Going to back to the chicken and the egg, it seems that paving the way to decarbonisation is not a matter of choosing one or the other, but both – it needs to be an industry-led effort where key players take the lead. Our exhibitors aren’t strangers to this either: Remy de Brujin, Business Development Manager at Terberg Benschop, talked to us about their upcoming electric and hydrogen-powered terminal tractors. We hope that their example is followed.

Sustainability: 'What gets measured gets managed'

TOC key takeaways

With over 24 hours of original content, and despite venturing into a new hybrid model, TOC Connect brought together leading experts to answer questions regarding the future of our industry. Among the main takeaways from this experience are the need for simplifying and integrating the supply chain, making it more versatile, and thus, more resilient against potential future disruptions, either by developing multi-modal channels, or by modernizing infrastructure and improving connectivity to the hinterland. On the tech side, whether feared or embraced, digital tools are bringing the 4^th Industrial Revolution to us and we need to capitalize on this transformation, but technology for the sake of it will prove challenging, this needs to be articulated into a holistic business strategy. The same goes for decarbonisation and sustainability – instead of waging them against profitability, let us think about green profit.

The discussions are far from over, and unfortunately neither are the pandemic nor disruptions in the supply chain. So, just as with TOC Connect, the learning process will continue. There are more questions to come, and we look forward to meeting again in 2022 to tackle these, whether it’s at TOC Asia (Singapore), TOC Europe (Rotterdam) or TOC Americas (Peru), at TOC we continue to learn.
 

See you at the next TOC!
 

Don't forget TOC Connect online platform will remain open until 5 December, for you to access all the on-demand sessions with Spanish subtitles.

If you couldn't join TOC Connect or missed part of the content, this is your chance to catch up!
 

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