Page 17: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2019)

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INSIGHTS: SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS high, it is often cheaper to simply pur- available, and therefore often have to launched research institution, The Center while giving liner operators and manag- chase a new container where supply is rely on guesswork. Shipping lines try to of Excellence in Modelling and Simula- ers greater control over their operations. required, rather than incur all the as- pass the additional expense on, but often tion for Next Generation Ports (C4NGP), It will make it much easier for opera- sociated repositioning costs. Accord- have to absorb these costs themselves in to develop a digital solution for optimiz- tors to understand and visualize exactly ing to ? gures shared by research group order to remain competitive. ing global container repositioning pro- where empty containers are, where there

Transport for Geography, about 1.5 to Despite being a well-established prob- cedures. The C4NGP, launched in Octo- is demand for containers and how to op- 2.5 million TEUs worth of containers lem, it is still currently very dif? cult to ber 2018 is a collaboration between the timize the route for reallocation. Having are manufactured annually (with 90% of optimize container repositioning pro- National University of Singapore (NUS) a birds-eye view will make it easier to this happening in China). The group sug- cesses. This is because the number of and the Singapore Maritime Institute formulate the most pragmatic solutions, gests it costs around $2,000 to manufac- possible repositioning permutations is (SMI), based at the NUS. Six other in- optimize container usage and minimize ture a 20-foot container, or $3,000 for a so high, that with the tools currently dustry partners signed their own related the time containers spend travelling 40-foot container. At the time of writing, available (mostly spreadsheets), it is MOU’s with C4NGP, and together will empty. This will reduce costs, increase the Freightos Baltic Exchange Container extremely dif? cult to identify the most jointly develop ‘digital twins’ of next- container turnaround and lower unneces-

Freight Rates puts a 40-foot shipment cost-ef? cient repositioning plan. This is generation ports and maritime systems. sary waste in global containerized ship-

China/East Asia to North America East why there is signi? cant opportunity for ping. Repositioning of empty containers,

Coast at $3276. a software solution to truly revolutionize Establishing a new equilibrium and the signi? cant associated costs, is the liner industry, and to make a measur- Softship’s container repositioning tool an issue that has plagued the shipping

Calculating the cost able improvement to pro? tability. will seek to simulate and solve the real- industry for decades and is the result of

Currently, most repositioning is calcu- This should soon change. Softship, as world inef? ciencies in re-locating empty an inherent geographical trade imbal- lated using a ‘rule-of-thumb’ assessment part of a newly launched research ini- shipping containers, to create cost sav- ance which the shipping industry can- of likely supply and demand; rather than tiative in Singapore is now working to ings for container operators and increase not redress, but it should be able to bet- business intelligence and careful con- develop a digital solution to this costly visibility across the supply chain. The ter manage. Container ship owners and sideration of every plausible reposition- problem. ultimate objective is to minimize the to- operators should no longer sit idle, like ing option. Carriers do not always have Softship has signed a Memorandum tal relevant costs such as transportation their empty assets, as there are solutions speci? c information for future loadings of Understanding (MOU) with a newly cost, handling cost, and holding cost, to be found. www.marinelink.com 17

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