Can digital ecosystems mitigate risks in sea transport operations? Estimating benefits for supply chain stakeholders

Abstract

Decision-making supported by digital ecosystems has been increasingly studied during recent years, especially due to improved technical capabilities to collect, store, and analyze large amounts of data. The literature recognizes that these systems can reduce response time of managers and enhance a cost-efficient recovery of supply chains. However, there is a lack of methodological frameworks to evaluate the benefits of these platforms. In addition, there is still little understanding of the risks in ocean container transport and their implications for supply chains. This paper proposes and applies a mathematical model for evaluating the impacts of digital platforms, with a focus on solutions to mitigate risks in sea transport operations. The model is based on scenarios and decision tree models to evaluate the impacts of a supply chain digital ecosystem on full containers shipped from Asia to Europe implemented by four companies. Results show monetary savings per scenario in the range from €3448 to €79,242. The most significant savings are expected on unplanned transshipments, cargo damage, export inspections, container detention, and container release.

Creating value through autonomous shipping: an ecosystem perspective

“…MASS can be seen as part of a broader digitalization trend, capable of changing the conduct of business (Urciuoli and Hintsa 2020;Porter and Heppelmann 2015). MASS have been defined as vessels that "to a varying degree, can operate independently of human interaction" (IMO 2018).…”

“…Secondly, achieving the system-level goal builds on a system of interdependent firms whose performance depends on the actions of their collaborators (Adner and Kapoor 2010;Moore 1996). To our knowledge, the business ecosystem perspective has not been widely applied in the supply chain, logistics or transportation management literature, especially in the context of maritime logistics (for some exceptions, see Eriksson et al 2019;Urciuoli and Hintsa 2020). Stakeholder analysis, and in particular research on port stakeholders (see e.g.…”

“…Digitalization tends to evoke changes in institutionalized ecosystems, as we have witnessed from some famous consumer market cases, such as Uber and Airbnb, over the past two decades. So-called digital ecosystems also appear to have significant potential for maritime transportation (Urciuoli and Hintsa 2020).…”

Prioritizing Business Quality Improvement of Fresh Agri-Food SMEs through Open Innovation to Survive the Pandemic: A QFD-Based Model

“…After determining the priority and satisfaction level of customer requirements, the third step is to use a tree diagram to translate the customer requirements (CReqs) into business requirements (BReqs). Tree diagrams are able to map different effective ways to solve customer requirement problems in order to achieve the main objectives related to quality [66]. Then, in the fourth step, the relationship between customer requirements (CReqs) and business requirements (BReqs) is determined using an L-shaped matrix that is capable of organizing a large number of features, functions and tasks of two parties in such a way that it can graphically represent logical connection points between CReqs and BReqs [67].…”

Information sharing to mitigate delays in port: the case of the Port of Rotterdam

“…In recent decades, the maritime sector has provided a growing number of digital solutions to support information sharing processes (Urciuoli and Hintsa 2021). The main exponent of this movement is Port Community Systems (PCS): electronic platforms that connect multiple actors inside the port domain, allowing them to share digitized data and information.…”