MINI CASE Global Logistics and the Maritime Transport Ecosystem, pg 66

Textbook: IT strategy (Issues and Practice), 4th edition. Writers: James D.Mckeen and Heather A.Smith

Discussion Questions:

1. Identify all the stakeholders in this ecosystem and their individual goals.

2. Describe the business opportunity you think Murray sees. What other opportunities are there for the non-business stakeholders?

3. Propose a potential solution to the problems in this ecosystem. In your proposal, be sure to address the following questions:

What would motivate the stakeholders to adopt your solution? Who would cover the costs of your solution? What role would GL play?

Please answer the above questions along with the references. Thank you.

Carlos Fernandez, COO of Global Logistics (GL), punched a button on his phone to summon his secretary, Alice. "Get me that new guy we just hired, what's his name?" "Murray Johnson," she supplied. "Yes, get him here asap!" Five minutes later Murray Johnson rushed in, hastily tightening his tie and running his fingers through his rumpled hair. "Have a seat," Carlos invited him. "How are you getting on at GL? What do you think of our little operation?" The "little operation" was in fact a global freight forwarding company responsible for handling the supply chain logistics of hundreds of major companies who shipped everything from the smallest widgets to large, heavy construction machines and materials everywhere in the world. After a few minutes of chat, he got down to business. Murray, I understand you're a smart guy-with a PhD in informatics no less." Murray inclined his head modestly. "I have an important job for you." Murray looked up with interest. "Here's the problem we have...." Carlos quickly sketched out how difficult it was to get information about their customers' overseas cargo shipments-whether coming from China or going to Europe or North America. "Our job is to integrate the whole process of shipping for our customers," he explained in his soft Spanish accent. "We need to track every detail from pick-up to delivery. We need cargo information, land transport information, port and terminal information, and ship information, and then port and terminal information, land transport information and cargo information on the other end of the shipment. We need to crunch this information for every shipment and then add in business information to calculate our bill. It's challenging because there are so many steps, types of information, and systems involved, particularly in tl "We want to provide our customers with end-to-end service but, with overseas shipping, it's currently impossible to track their shipments and they're getting increasing frustrated. I've had four irate customer calls this month asking why they can't simply track their overseas shipments like they do with FedEx. This could be a real business opportunity for us. We need a fresh perspective so see what you can come up with. I'll introduce you to Reggie who can give you an overview of how thing work." Reggie Finch, one of GL's shipping agents, grinned when he heard what Carlos wanted Murray to do. "The first thing I have to do when someone has a cargo to ship is to understand the cargo and how it is to be transported. We usually start about six months in advance to determine the nature and dimensions of the cargo, where it's going, and what our options are for transportation. Although we can often choose between rail and truck for land transportation, shipping is usually the only choice for intercontinental travel for larger cargos. I call around to see what's available and then, depending on the nature of the cargo, where it's going, and how fast it has to get there, we will charter a ship or a place on a container ship. This means negotiating a contract with the ship owner or charterer that will cover all aspects of the voyage from where, when, and how the cargo will be picked up to where, when, and how it will be delivered and everything in between." "Then we negotiate with the shipper, the receiver, and the transporters to set the terms of the shipment and get agreement on the costs involved...." Murray's eyes and mind wandered to the panoramic view out the windows of the office to the port spread out almost as far as he could see. To his far right were the tall multi-storied Ro-Ro ships with their rows and rows of cars. Just beneath him was the container terminal with fields of full and empty containers, train tracks leading into it, and lines of trucks entering and departing-some with containers and some without. Giant automated cranes busily moved up and down the rows, selecting and loading containers according to a predetermined loading plan. To his left, a few general cargo ships were at berth and to his far left was the oil terminal where giant tankers glided into pumping stations. "It's my job to keep track of every piece of data related to a shipment so we can calculate the costs involved," continued Reggie. "That also includes any customs charges, penalties levied, and fairway dues for going through narrow straits. And that's just the business information that relates to the cost of transporting the cargo that we pick up. carry, and deliver. There's a lot more!" Reggie went to the white board and quickly sketched some slightly intersecting ovals. The stuff I've just told you about is the information we need for business and financial purposes. That's how we figure out what to charge our customers and what to pay to the various entities that transport their cargo, or process it, or allow it to move through their territory ... whatever. It's the beginning and the end of the transportation chain." Reggie continued, "As you can see, some of this data intersects with what's used in other parts of maritime transport so it's important to be clear about what information you need because the data exists in various systems and databases. It would be great if it were all in one place but it's not. And much of this information is paper- or email-based, which means that it's not easy to look up with a computer." "Let's look at a supply chain that most people know about." Reggie went on to explain that when shipping a parcel by courier, each package is assigned a bar code making tracking relatively straightforward because the code can be scanned at all way points-when it reaches a sorting station, when it reaches its regional destination, when it is loaded on the truck for delivery, and finally when it is delivered. This allows customers to track their package along its route. "We do something similar for containers and other bulk shipments when they go by land, Reggie said. "Each one gets a bar code we can scan at different points of its journey ... pickup at the factory, delivery to the terminal, loading on the ship, unloading from the ship, pickup from the terminal, and delivery to the buyer. But once it is on the ship, we can't track the shipment itself, we have to track the ship." "So, what's the problem? Can't you track the ship?" asked Murray. "Let me show you, rather than tell you, Reggie replied. They went down some back stairs, through a security gate, and up the gangway of a medium-sized cargo ship, the Eleni. The mate recognized Reggie and walked them to a small office adjacent to the bridge. Captain Anders Haraldson was at his computer surrounded by stacks of paper. Reggie introduced Murray. "Murray's on a mission to find out how he can get information about GL's shipments. I thought you might be a good person to explain how you use information on a ship and what information you provide to others. Could I leave him here with you for an hour?" Captain Haraldson grabbed a pile of papers from the office's sole visitor's chair and invited Murray to sit. "You've taken on a big job," he commented. "Nothing in this business is streamlined or designed for sharing, and your information need, while important, is not the only factor I have to balance when doing my job. As captain, safety of the ship, crew, and cargo is of paramount concern. And it's foundational to almost every aspect of the maritime transport ecosystem. No one wants to see lives lost, pollution, collisions, groundings, and cargo destroyed." "So, I plan my route with safety in mind, as well as getting to my next port as quickly and efficiently as possible. I consult navigational charts, both online and paper, and meteorological data-weather, tides, icebergs- from a variety of sources: online from our subscription services, from regional radio broadcasts that give me coastal warnings, and from VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) in busy areas. Then I plan my route and update it as the voyage progresses. This works reasonably well for me but because my route data isn't shared with anyone, it can't be accessed by other ships, our next port, the cargo owner, not even the ship's owner. It's an informational dead end." "So if no one knows your route, how do they know where you are or when you plan to get to port?" asked Murray. "There are several ways," Anders explained. "First, all medium-large ships have an Automated Identification System or AIS, that contains the ship's ID number, destination, and expected time of arrival (ETA), as well as other information about it. You can use this to see all the other ships in your immediate vicinity." He turned to his computer and in a few clicks found the Eleni and a map of all the other ships in port at this time. "So, what's wrong with AIS?" Murray wondered. "It's good as far as it goes," replied Anders. "A lot of us use it to identify and contact other ships and VTS uses it to monitor ships in their coastal waters. In fact, anyone can log in and monitor how ships are moving around. But it's another informational dead end. The data is collected and put in a database somewhere, but it doesn't connect to anything else. So I can see it if I want or VTS can, but to track your cargo, you have to know what ship it's on and go looking for it. It doesn't update some real-time tracking system somewhere. And while it gives a destination port, it doesn't show the route the ship has planned, so I still pretty much have to rely on calling the ships around us to find out whether we're going to cross paths. It's not like Air Traffic Control where everyone files a flight plan and then controllers approve and monitor all the traffic. Here, you're pretty much on your own, at least until you get to a congested fairway or a port." "If AIS is a dead end, how do I get your data to track our customer's cargo?" asked Murray frowning. "Don't laugh," said Anders, "but every day at noon, I send a report to the ship's owners. It acts as an official history of the voyage and helps us determine what supplies we need at port. I'm also in communication with our agent at the next port-at least 72 hours out-and he in turn informs charterers, the cargo owners, the port authority, and various other agencies about my ETA. I'm not sure who they all are, but Reggie can fill you in. So if you're tracking cargo on my ship, you could always watch for my emails!" "Well, that's not a very efficient way to do it!" said Murray. "With our numerous cargos, it would be an incredibly time-consuming job!" !!! D O "It's even worse than that," said Reggie, who had just popped back into the office. "Every port and state has a myriad of different forms and systems. Although there are common laws and regulations set by the International Maritime Organization, ea pplies them differently. The result is a situation where every port and state has set up systems, data, and procedures in a way that works for them but it doesn't work for the captain or for the transport system as a whole. There are so many ems, they don't see the forest for the trees! We are basically drowning in paperwork and data and have no information! Haraldson continued, "We need to get everyone together to look at the maritime transport ecosystem as a whole and see where efficiencies in paperwork and data sharing could benefit everyone. The way I see it is that much of the same data is replicated over and over-to ports, agents, terminals, freight forwarders, VTS, owners and port services. It's not just the captains who would benefit from this type of sharing; everyone would!" Murray was thoughtful as he walked back to Reggie's office with him. "So there's no one who has an overview of the whole process from end-to-end!" he muttered. "And nothing talks to anything else, though most of the data is the same." *That's pretty much right," agreed Reggie. "If we had that overview and everyone could access the data they needed just-in-time, the way they do with land transport, there would be a lot better collaboration between everyone. Today, if a vessel is late or early, service providers and freight forwarders will only know that if the captain or the agent tells them." "The way I understand it is that cargo shippers and planners, port authorities, ship captains and owners, and other shore-based services like berths, tugs, and pilots, all need a similar understanding of the status of the voyage with slightly different information," said Murray. "But even though the data is out there, it's not getting out to the right people in the right format. There are so many information dead ends and we're creating the same data over and over." "That's true, but it's also worse than that because any confusion can cause delays and loss of revenue," said Reggie. For example, at this port, when a ship sends me an ETA, I send the vessel's information to the Maritime Authority and the State Authority and to the Directorate of Merchant Shipping. Then I have to report it to the Port Authority and the port will assign a berth and send me a berthing authorization, with a copy to the State Authority. The Port Authority also sends the information to Customs. Every time a document is sent, its receipt has to be acknowledged. So everything Captain Haraldson sends me, I have to send off to the proper authority and get a receipt. I do the same with port services, such as pilotage, tugs, waste removal, electricity, water supply, and any other services they need. The berth authorization is given to the pilots, who then contact the captain by radio. VTS and the coast guard are also in touch regarding weather conditions, traffic, and vessel coordination because there are some conditions under which we won't let certain ships into our harbor. And now with increased security concerns, there's a whole new set of document exchanges! If there's a slip-up, there can be a domino effect of misunderstandings that cost time and money. Plus, because every country-even every port-does things a little differently, we don't have the option of developing systems with straightforward flow-through processes. And no one wants to change how they're collecting data to create more useful information for other stakeholders in the ecosystem." When they reached his office, Reggie pulled out the diagram he'd drawn of the different sets of data involved in transporting GL's cargo across the ocean. I think we've covered it all," he said. Financial and business information needs, navigational and nautical information, ship informat and cargo information. These are mostly separate worlds that intersect only minimally and with a lot of manual processes, but for your purposes, you need some data from each of these areas, and so do a lot of others working in maritime transport-port services, VTS, other ships, and terminals - just to name a few." "The problem is," Reggie continued, that shipping has evolved over hundreds of years without coordination. Air transport started off being coordinated less than a century ago. And in land transport, the coordinated systems have also evolved with the industry. Both air and land use technology in a much more integrated and standard fashion than maritime transport." "So is nothing being done to improve this situation?" Murray asked. It's hard to believe that smart people aren't trying to do something about this." Reggie scratched his head. "Well, the EU is trying to help. I know we'll soon be able to file some documents electronically. The problem is it takes years to implement these types of things. Even then compliance can be spotty, especially in some countries and some smaller ports. And that's just to do with after-the-fact reporting. It doesn't address some of the real-time information you and others are looking for. I know that some of the major shipping companies and cruise lines are fed up with the slow pace of change and are trying to do something. Those guys have much better systems than the small and medium operators, but they're just looking at their own needs and not the needs of the whole ecosystem. Imagine if British Airways optimized its own flights and didn't worry about anything else in the air!" Murray thanked Reggie for his help and headed back to his cubicle. There had to be a way to get better data sharing across the different parts of the maritime transport ecosystem without forcing everyone to buy and install an expensive system that would force them all to work in the same way (something he now realized would be impossible given all the entities involved). With all the new technology out there, surely there would be a way to utilize what ships and ports and freight forwarders were already producing this burden less onerous. He thought about his PhD thesis in energy informatics where he had installed sensors that passively collected energy usage from thousands of homes and then informed each study participant about their patterns of consumption and compared it with their (anonymized) neighbors. Was there a similar model that could be used here? Looking back at Reggie's diagram, Murray realized that his challenge boiled down to connecting the circles on the diagram. What if there was a service that could access AIS y in the format needed when requested by an authorized user? What if captains and freight forwarders and port services could obtain this information in real time to make decisions? What if port services and agents could be dynamically informed of the progress of every ship headed into and out of their ports to improve traffic flow and services planning and coordination? What if each state and each port could also get the information they needed, in the format they needed, when they needed it? The data was already there. All it would take would be some standard data sharing and access protocols (much like AIS already provides) and agreement that it could be shared as needed. That's it! he thought excitedly. It could work! I know it! I can't wait to tell Carlos about this. It's a great business opportunity for us! It could be a win-win-win for everyone in maritime transport. Carlos Fernandez, COO of Global Logistics (GL), punched a button on his phone to summon his secretary, Alice. "Get me that new guy we just hired, what's his name?" "Murray Johnson," she supplied. "Yes, get him here asap!" Five minutes later Murray Johnson rushed in, hastily tightening his tie and running his fingers through his rumpled hair. "Have a seat," Carlos invited him. "How are you getting on at GL? What do you think of our little operation?" The "little operation" was in fact a global freight forwarding company responsible for handling the supply chain logistics of hundreds of major companies who shipped everything from the smallest widgets to large, heavy construction machines and materials everywhere in the world. After a few minutes of chat, he got down to business. Murray, I understand you're a smart guy-with a PhD in informatics no less." Murray inclined his head modestly. "I have an important job for you." Murray looked up with interest. "Here's the problem we have...." Carlos quickly sketched out how difficult it was to get information about their customers' overseas cargo shipments-whether coming from China or going to Europe or North America. "Our job is to integrate the whole process of shipping for our customers," he explained in his soft Spanish accent. "We need to track every detail from pick-up to delivery. We need cargo information, land transport information, port and terminal information, and ship information, and then port and terminal information, land transport information and cargo information on the other end of the shipment. We need to crunch this information for every shipment and then add in business information to calculate our bill. It's challenging because there are so many steps, types of information, and systems involved, particularly in tl "We want to provide our customers with end-to-end service but, with overseas shipping, it's currently impossible to track their shipments and they're getting increasing frustrated. I've had four irate customer calls this month asking why they can't simply track their overseas shipments like they do with FedEx. This could be a real business opportunity for us. We need a fresh perspective so see what you can come up with. I'll introduce you to Reggie who can give you an overview of how thing work." Reggie Finch, one of GL's shipping agents, grinned when he heard what Carlos wanted Murray to do. "The first thing I have to do when someone has a cargo to ship is to understand the cargo and how it is to be transported. We usually start about six months in advance to determine the nature and dimensions of the cargo, where it's going, and what our options are for transportation. Although we can often choose between rail and truck for land transportation, shipping is usually the only choice for intercontinental travel for larger cargos. I call around to see what's available and then, depending on the nature of the cargo, where it's going, and how fast it has to get there, we will charter a ship or a place on a container ship. This means negotiating a contract with the ship owner or charterer that will cover all aspects of the voyage from where, when, and how the cargo will be picked up to where, when, and how it will be delivered and everything in between." "Then we negotiate with the shipper, the receiver, and the transporters to set the terms of the shipment and get agreement on the costs involved...." Murray's eyes and mind wandered to the panoramic view out the windows of the office to the port spread out almost as far as he could see. To his far right were the tall multi-storied Ro-Ro ships with their rows and rows of cars. Just beneath him was the container terminal with fields of full and empty containers, train tracks leading into it, and lines of trucks entering and departing-some with containers and some without. Giant automated cranes busily moved up and down the rows, selecting and loading containers according to a predetermined loading plan. To his left, a few general cargo ships were at berth and to his far left was the oil terminal where giant tankers glided into pumping stations. "It's my job to keep track of every piece of data related to a shipment so we can calculate the costs involved," continued Reggie. "That also includes any customs charges, penalties levied, and fairway dues for going through narrow straits. And that's just the business information that relates to the cost of transporting the cargo that we pick up. carry, and deliver. There's a lot more!" Reggie went to the white board and quickly sketched some slightly intersecting ovals. The stuff I've just told you about is the information we need for business and financial purposes. That's how we figure out what to charge our customers and what to pay to the various entities that transport their cargo, or process it, or allow it to move through their territory ... whatever. It's the beginning and the end of the transportation chain." Reggie continued, "As you can see, some of this data intersects with what's used in other parts of maritime transport so it's important to be clear about what information you need because the data exists in various systems and databases. It would be great if it were all in one place but it's not. And much of this information is paper- or email-based, which means that it's not easy to look up with a computer." "Let's look at a supply chain that most people know about." Reggie went on to explain that when shipping a parcel by courier, each package is assigned a bar code making tracking relatively straightforward because the code can be scanned at all way points-when it reaches a sorting station, when it reaches its regional destination, when it is loaded on the truck for delivery, and finally when it is delivered. This allows customers to track their package along its route. "We do something similar for containers and other bulk shipments when they go by land, Reggie said. "Each one gets a bar code we can scan at different points of its journey ... pickup at the factory, delivery to the terminal, loading on the ship, unloading from the ship, pickup from the terminal, and delivery to the buyer. But once it is on the ship, we can't track the shipment itself, we have to track the ship." "So, what's the problem? Can't you track the ship?" asked Murray. "Let me show you, rather than tell you, Reggie replied. They went down some back stairs, through a security gate, and up the gangway of a medium-sized cargo ship, the Eleni. The mate recognized Reggie and walked them to a small office adjacent to the bridge. Captain Anders Haraldson was at his computer surrounded by stacks of paper. Reggie introduced Murray. "Murray's on a mission to find out how he can get information about GL's shipments. I thought you might be a good person to explain how you use information on a ship and what information you provide to others. Could I leave him here with you for an hour?" Captain Haraldson grabbed a pile of papers from the office's sole visitor's chair and invited Murray to sit. "You've taken on a big job," he commented. "Nothing in this business is streamlined or designed for sharing, and your information need, while important, is not the only factor I have to balance when doing my job. As captain, safety of the ship, crew, and cargo is of paramount concern. And it's foundational to almost every aspect of the maritime transport ecosystem. No one wants to see lives lost, pollution, collisions, groundings, and cargo destroyed." "So, I plan my route with safety in mind, as well as getting to my next port as quickly and efficiently as possible. I consult navigational charts, both online and paper, and meteorological data-weather, tides, icebergs- from a variety of sources: online from our subscription services, from regional radio broadcasts that give me coastal warnings, and from VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) in busy areas. Then I plan my route and update it as the voyage progresses. This works reasonably well for me but because my route data isn't shared with anyone, it can't be accessed by other ships, our next port, the cargo owner, not even the ship's owner. It's an informational dead end." "So if no one knows your route, how do they know where you are or when you plan to get to port?" asked Murray. "There are several ways," Anders explained. "First, all medium-large ships have an Automated Identification System or AIS, that contains the ship's ID number, destination, and expected time of arrival (ETA), as well as other information about it. You can use this to see all the other ships in your immediate vicinity." He turned to his computer and in a few clicks found the Eleni and a map of all the other ships in port at this time. "So, what's wrong with AIS?" Murray wondered. "It's good as far as it goes," replied Anders. "A lot of us use it to identify and contact other ships and VTS uses it to monitor ships in their coastal waters. In fact, anyone can log in and monitor how ships are moving around. But it's another informational dead end. The data is collected and put in a database somewhere, but it doesn't connect to anything else. So I can see it if I want or VTS can, but to track your cargo, you have to know what ship it's on and go looking for it. It doesn't update some real-time tracking system somewhere. And while it gives a destination port, it doesn't show the route the ship has planned, so I still pretty much have to rely on calling the ships around us to find out whether we're going to cross paths. It's not like Air Traffic Control where everyone files a flight plan and then controllers approve and monitor all the traffic. Here, you're pretty much on your own, at least until you get to a congested fairway or a port." "If AIS is a dead end, how do I get your data to track our customer's cargo?" asked Murray frowning. "Don't laugh," said Anders, "but every day at noon, I send a report to the ship's owners. It acts as an official history of the voyage and helps us determine what supplies we need at port. I'm also in communication with our agent at the next port-at least 72 hours out-and he in turn informs charterers, the cargo owners, the port authority, and various other agencies about my ETA. I'm not sure who they all are, but Reggie can fill you in. So if you're tracking cargo on my ship, you could always watch for my emails!" "Well, that's not a very efficient way to do it!" said Murray. "With our numerous cargos, it would be an incredibly time-consuming job!" !!! D O "It's even worse than that," said Reggie, who had just popped back into the office. "Every port and state has a myriad of different forms and systems. Although there are common laws and regulations set by the International Maritime Organization, ea pplies them differently. The result is a situation where every port and state has set up systems, data, and procedures in a way that works for them but it doesn't work for the captain or for the transport system as a whole. There are so many ems, they don't see the forest for the trees! We are basically drowning in paperwork and data and have no information! Haraldson continued, "We need to get everyone together to look at the maritime transport ecosystem as a whole and see where efficiencies in paperwork and data sharing could benefit everyone. The way I see it is that much of the same data is replicated over and over-to ports, agents, terminals, freight forwarders, VTS, owners and port services. It's not just the captains who would benefit from this type of sharing; everyone would!" Murray was thoughtful as he walked back to Reggie's office with him. "So there's no one who has an overview of the whole process from end-to-end!" he muttered. "And nothing talks to anything else, though most of the data is the same." *That's pretty much right," agreed Reggie. "If we had that overview and everyone could access the data they needed just-in-time, the way they do with land transport, there would be a lot better collaboration between everyone. Today, if a vessel is late or early, service providers and freight forwarders will only know that if the captain or the agent tells them." "The way I understand it is that cargo shippers and planners, port authorities, ship captains and owners, and other shore-based services like berths, tugs, and pilots, all need a similar understanding of the status of the voyage with slightly different information," said Murray. "But even though the data is out there, it's not getting out to the right people in the right format. There are so many information dead ends and we're creating the same data over and over." "That's true, but it's also worse than that because any confusion can cause delays and loss of revenue," said Reggie. For example, at this port, when a ship sends me an ETA, I send the vessel's information to the Maritime Authority and the State Authority and to the Directorate of Merchant Shipping. Then I have to report it to the Port Authority and the port will assign a berth and send me a berthing authorization, with a copy to the State Authority. The Port Authority also sends the information to Customs. Every time a document is sent, its receipt has to be acknowledged. So everything Captain Haraldson sends me, I have to send off to the proper authority and get a receipt. I do the same with port services, such as pilotage, tugs, waste removal, electricity, water supply, and any other services they need. The berth authorization is given to the pilots, who then contact the captain by radio. VTS and the coast guard are also in touch regarding weather conditions, traffic, and vessel coordination because there are some conditions under which we won't let certain ships into our harbor. And now with increased security concerns, there's a whole new set of document exchanges! If there's a slip-up, there can be a domino effect of misunderstandings that cost time and money. Plus, because every country-even every port-does things a little differently, we don't have the option of developing systems with straightforward flow-through processes. And no one wants to change how they're collecting data to create more useful information for other stakeholders in the ecosystem." When they reached his office, Reggie pulled out the diagram he'd drawn of the different sets of data involved in transporting GL's cargo across the ocean. I think we've covered it all," he said. Financial and business information needs, navigational and nautical information, ship informat and cargo information. These are mostly separate worlds that intersect only minimally and with a lot of manual processes, but for your purposes, you need some data from each of these areas, and so do a lot of others working in maritime transport-port services, VTS, other ships, and terminals - just to name a few." "The problem is," Reggie continued, that shipping has evolved over hundreds of years without coordination. Air transport started off being coordinated less than a century ago. And in land transport, the coordinated systems have also evolved with the industry. Both air and land use technology in a much more integrated and standard fashion than maritime transport." "So is nothing being done to improve this situation?" Murray asked. It's hard to believe that smart people aren't trying to do something about this." Reggie scratched his head. "Well, the EU is trying to help. I know we'll soon be able to file some documents electronically. The problem is it takes years to implement these types of things. Even then compliance can be spotty, especially in some countries and some smaller ports. And that's just to do with after-the-fact reporting. It doesn't address some of the real-time information you and others are looking for. I know that some of the major shipping companies and cruise lines are fed up with the slow pace of change and are trying to do something. Those guys have much better systems than the small and medium operators, but they're just looking at their own needs and not the needs of the whole ecosystem. Imagine if British Airways optimized its own flights and didn't worry about anything else in the air!" Murray thanked Reggie for his help and headed back to his cubicle. There had to be a way to get better data sharing across the different parts of the maritime transport ecosystem without forcing everyone to buy and install an expensive system that would force them all to work in the same way (something he now realized would be impossible given all the entities involved). With all the new technology out there, surely there would be a way to utilize what ships and ports and freight forwarders were already producing this burden less onerous. He thought about his PhD thesis in energy informatics where he had installed sensors that passively collected energy usage from thousands of homes and then informed each study participant about their patterns of consumption and compared it with their (anonymized) neighbors. Was there a similar model that could be used here? Looking back at Reggie's diagram, Murray realized that his challenge boiled down to connecting the circles on the diagram. What if there was a service that could access AIS y in the format needed when requested by an authorized user? What if captains and freight forwarders and port services could obtain this information in real time to make decisions? What if port services and agents could be dynamically informed of the progress of every ship headed into and out of their ports to improve traffic flow and services planning and coordination? What if each state and each port could also get the information they needed, in the format they needed, when they needed it? The data was already there. All it would take would be some standard data sharing and access protocols (much like AIS already provides) and agreement that it could be shared as needed. That's it! he thought excitedly. It could work! I know it! I can't wait to tell Carlos about this. It's a great business opportunity for us! It could be a win-win-win for everyone in maritime transport