Digital transformation of maritime logistics:
Exploring trends in
the liner shipping segment
C O M P U T E R S I N I N D U S T R Y
A u t h o r s ： Z e e s h a n R a z a , J o h a n W o x e n i u s ,
C e r e n A l t u n t a s V u r a l , M i k a e l L i n d ( 2 0 2 3 )
P r e s e n t e r ： C H E N , Y O U - S H E N G ( S h a n e )
2 0 2 3 / 0 3 / 2 9

JCR COMPUTERS IN INDUSTRY
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Vocabularies 1/3
P. English Chinese
1 quest to 尋求
1 underlying challenges 潛在的挑戰
1 fragmentation
分散
1 stringent 嚴格
1 road hauliers 公路營運商
1 freight forwarders 貨運代理
2 door-to-door
movements
門到門運輸
2 disruptive 顛覆性
2 spell out 說明清楚
P. English Chinese
3 digital native 數位原生代
3 Fashionistas 另一方面
3 inertia 慣性
3 silos 孤立的
4 stifle 扼殺
4 autonomous vesse 自主船艦
4 emissions 排放
4 pandemic 疫情
5 turnover 營業額
5 anatomy 剖析
6 promising 有前景的
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Vocabularies 2 /3
P. English Chinese
6 reflecting on 反思
6 paper trail 系列文件
7 get away 擺脫
7 panacea thinking 萬靈丹想法
7 reluctance 不願
8 vivid across 擺脫
8 hampering 阻礙
8 hindering 阻礙
8 competency traps 能力陷阱
8 monolithic 整體
8 itinerant seafarer life 流動的船員生活
P. English Chinese
9 right competence 合適能力
9 afloat 業務
9 victims 受害者
10 accountable for 對…負責
10 accountability 問責制
10 no bulletproof 沒有實現
10 placing bets 引入下注
10 indispensable 不可或缺
11 incubators 孵化器
11 to screen for 要篩選
11 take inspiration 汲取靈感
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Vocabularies 3/3
P. English Chinese
11 go out and spin out 走出去並組件
11 buy-in 認同
11 start small 小處入手
11 closer range ambitions 追求更近的目標
11 incremental change 漸進式變革
11 joint ventures 合資企業
12 venture capital firms 風險投資公司
12 credibility 可靠性
12 profoundly alter 深刻改變
12 boundary spanner 邊界協調者
12 concrete action 具體行動
P. English Chinese
12 reinventing 以新形式出現
(重現)
12 multiple fronts 多方面戰線
12 top-down mandate 由上而下授權
13 business-savvy 商業頭腦
13 fostering 促進
13 temptation 誘惑
14 rather uniformly 相當一致
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0 5
D iscussion and conclusion
0 4
Results and
analy sis
0 3
M eth ods
0 1
Introduction
0 2
Literature
rev iew
Table of Contents
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Purpose
Identifying the essential organizational
elements and leading strategies that
shape DT success in the maritime
logistics industry (particular focus on the
liner shipping segment)
Findings
Resistance to change and siloed
functions are key challenges to
digitalization of maritime industry
People, culture, agility and change
management are fundamental to
digitalization of maritime industry
Abstract
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Methodology
Following a qualitative research
design based on semi-structured
interviews with senior executives
from liner shipping companies
Originality
Explores the current digital maturity levels,
benefits, hindering and identifies the
essential leading strategies of digitalization in
this segment
9 major barriers and 19 different pathways to
digital transformation are identified
Abstract
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Introduction
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High
fragmentation
Low
transparency
and visibility
Costly
manual
processes
Outdated
customer
interfaces
Volatile fuel
prices
Demand
uncertainties
Environmental
regulations
Stringent
competition
Poor
predictability
(Raza et al., 2020, Rodrigue et al., 2017)
The “digital age” – has fundamentally transformed the
competitive dynamics of various industries including
logistics (Hofmann and Osterwalder, 2017)
Half of transport costs are associated with management
and order documents, arising mostly from data
processing and customs requirements (Cariou, 2018)

Introduction
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 Recently, the role of digitalization for maritime logistics operations has
emerged as the applied discourse of maritime informatics (Lind et al.,
2021b).
 Despite the benefits promised by DT, the shipping industry is reluctant
to adopt new digital technologies (Sanchez-Gonzalez et al., 2019)
 Lack of a DT strategy, insufficient technical knowledge and skills, high
cost, lack of standardization and interoperability (Pagano et al., 2022),
Digital transformation (DT), which refers to the required transformations driving
digitalization within and between organizations based on a digital strategy (Heilig et al., 2017)

R Q 1
R Q 3 R Q 4
R Q 2
What does digital
transformation mean to a
liner shipping company?
What are the main drivers
and challenges of digital
transformation in the liner
shipping industry?
What are the liner shipping
industry’s key strategies for
embracing digital
transformation?
What is the digital
maturity status of the
liner shipping industry?
Introduction
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Tijan et al. (2021) emphasise the need for more empirical research to gain deeper insights
regarding digital awareness in the shipping industry

Digitization Digitalization Digital transformation
Literature review
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creating a digital
representation of physical
objects or attributes
(Gong and Ribiere, 2021)
to the use of digital
technologies and
digitalized data to alter
sociotechnical structures
(Osmundsen et al., 2018)
a strategy or a broader process of
transforming an organization or
a network of organizations on
different levels
(strategy, governance, leadership,
culture, people and technology)

Literature review
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2020 Kossowski et al.
The fundamental objective of DT is adding value to an organization
• operational efficiencies
• improved customer experiences
• improved business models
• development of new products and services
• strategic differentiation
• competitive advantage
• improved stakeholder relationships and cost savings
2016 Haffke et al.
New industry and non-industry entrants with disruptive digital business models,
regulatory pressure and technological advancements are considered to be the
triggers which motivate companies to engage in DT projects
2020
2021
Sullivan et al.
Tijan et al.
The key drivers of DT in maritime logistics are
• changing customer requirements and expectations
• cost reduction
• digital shifts in customer industries
• legislation and changes in the competitive landscape
2.1. Purpose and drivers of digital transformation

Literature review
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2020 Cichosz et al. DT is a continuous evolutionary process
2018 Kane et al.
Digital maturity is defined as “the degree to which organizations have adapted
themselves to a digital business environment”
2014
2017
Westerman
et al.
Kane et al.
Greater digital maturity leads to enhanced corporate performance
2022 Kuo et al.
DT leads to various benefits for the shipping industry actors such as enhanced efficiency,
improved customer satisfaction and better environmental performance
2014
Westerman
et al.
Digital maturity is a combination of two separate
• digital intensity :
customer engagements, internal operations, and even business models
• transformation management intensity :
vision, governance and leadership capabilities
2.2. Digital maturity

Literature review
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2.2. Digital maturity
Fig. 1. The digital maturity matrix. Adapted from Westerman et al. (2014).
1. Firms with weak
digital capabilities
and weak
transformation
management
capabilities are
digital beginners
2. Digital natives who
truly understand
how to drive value
with DT and achieve
competitive
advantage

Literature review
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2020 Parola et al.
to achieve the positive outcomes, organizations must identify and counteract the
impeding barriers that hinder the execution of their transformation
2019 Vial refers to 35 sources, revealing that one of the most significant barriers to DT is inertia
2016 Srivastava et al.
Inertia is relevant where existing resources and capabilities can act as barriers to
disruption highlighting the relevance of path dependence as a constraining force for
innovation through digital technologies
2019 Vial
by quoting 40 sources
the resistance that employees can demonstrate when disruptive technologies are
introduced in the organization
2019
2018
Vial
Kane et al
point out “competency traps” with employees
their past successes and may cause resistance that organizations may find it difficult to
change peoples’ mindsets and beliefs
2020 Agrawal et al. people are the major hurdle to digital transformation
2022
2021
Kechagias et al.
Tijan et al.
more interconnection between systems onboard which have made shipping more
vulnerable to cyberattacks
2.3. Digital transformation challenges

Literature review
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2021 Watson et al.
the involvement of various autonomous actors in the maritime logistics industry
• agents
• terminal operators
• shipping companies
• shippers
• financial institutions and customs authorities
• self-organized maritime practice
2019 Raza et al.
shippers are plenty and more conscious about the time-related service-quality
attributes
2020 Lind et al.
to create a new digital infrastructure based on data sharing among actors, facilitating
visibility, predictability and eventually better decision-making for the actors involved
2021 Lind et al.
a cultural shift where coordination and synchronization needs to move beyond the
requirement of being physically present
2020
2020
Lind et al.
Seyedghorba
n et al.
digital technologies and satellite communications have enabled transparency and
connectivity in multimodal maritime logistics networks which is a determining success
factor for many organizations
2.4. Shipping and digital transformation

Literature review
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2.4. Shipping and digital transformation
Communicating data Woxenius et al. (2013)
• increasing load-capacity utilization and suggest the use of multiagent-based
simulations
Cloud computing Wang and Sarkis, 2021
• become mainstream after more than a decade’s development
• enables authorized users to simultaneously access online platforms from
different devices and enjoy real-time services
Tracking technologies
Parola et al., 2020 , Aamnes, 2017; Becha et al., 2020; Parola et al., 2020)
• enhance container shipping companies’ performance by increasing visibility
and reducing transaction costs
• accelerated decision-making at sea, at port and in the hinterland
• better inventory control, better demand forecasting, shorter order fulfilment lead
times, improved logistics flexibility and asset performance
Fundamental to any
digitalization initiative in
transport and logistics is
the need to have
appropriate
information and
communication
infrastructure for data
capturing, storage,
processing and sharing
to build robust digital
connectivity within and
between organizations

Literature review
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2.4. Shipping and digital transformation
Maersk Line uses IoT sensor data from its 600 vessels for
fuel economy enhancement, voyage optimization, reefer
container monitoring and empty container optimization
(Teradata, 2018)
Hapag-Lloyd when it started to equip its container
fleet with IoT devices for real-time tracking (Bruno,
2022)

Literature review
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Q u a l i t a t i v e
r e s e a r c h d e s i g n
A purposeful sampling strategy
semi-structured interviews
Recorded and later transcribed
I m p l e m e n t a t i o n
• Seven interviews on Zoom or in
person were conducted in December
2021 and January 2022
• In-depth interviews and lasted 60 min
• recorded and later transcribed
• An interview guide
S e l e c t i o n
• Assured about the
anonymity
• Highly experienced
executives with several
years of experience
S t e p
We first import, then code,
then interpret and then write
up the recorded interview
Using NVivo software
Methods
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focused on the liner shipping segment considering the higher value of cargo handled,
sensitivity of the customers to service improvements and performance and the complexity of
the transport networks (Raza et al., 2019)

Methods
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Then, the research questions acted as the a priori
codes (Miles et al., 2020) for the iterative coding
process
The interview data was coded into themes and
concepts such as definition of DT, drivers,
challenges, opportunities, key digital technologies,
and DT strategies

Results and analysis
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ＡＢ customer requirements regarding visibility,
lower prices and lower carbon footprint of their
freight transport as well as increasing operational
and cost efficiency
Ｃ furthermore, competition from non-industry
entrants and fear of missing out (FOMO) have
also motivated shipping companies to implement
DT
Ｄ DT paves the way for new business
opportunities, such as data provision, new service
offers, alternative business models and value
channels
Ｅfurther highlight that Covid-19 proved to be
another driver and has increased the pace of DT
in shipping

Results and analysis
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Results and analysis
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Results and analysis
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Discussion and conclusion
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• Establish a tangible vision and a new business strategy with DT at heart
• Establish new leadership roles such as CDO or CIO who have additional
capabilities in change management
• Support employee/team empowerment and continuous learning
• Embrace cheap hypothesis-driven experimentation on multiple fronts
and encourage a fail-forward culture
• Break down silos and focus on upskilling, reskilling, and knowledge
dissemination
• Develop partnerships with customers, competitors and suppliers

Limitations and implications
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Received limited scholarly attention
• further analysed with an explanatory approach to discover the relationships between
drivers, barriers, strategies and DT success
• studies can be extended to multiple industries and comparative analyses across cases
would bring valuable insights about the varying maturity levels of different sectors
Employee resistance has appeared as a key challenge to DT
• encouraged to investigate in depth how DT triggers conflicts, discrepancies, uncertainty,
and power struggles in an organization and the negative consequences of DT for
management and employees
• to look at the ways to craft and implement an appropriate change management strategy

Appendix A: Interview Guide
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Appendix A: Interview Guide
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THANK YOU

RESOURCES
• Zeeshan Raza, Johan Woxenius, Ceren Altuntas Vural, Mikael Lind, Digital transformation of maritime logistics:
Exploring trends in the liner shipping segment, Computers in Industry, Volume 145, 2023, 103811, ISSN 0166-
3615, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2022.103811.
• Free Google Slides Shipping and Logistics PowerPoint Template (slidechef.net)
https://slidechef.net/templates/free-google-slides-shipping-and-logistics-template/
• Microsoft Stock images (royalty-free images)
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Extended learning
• 何謂「Liner Shipping」及「Shipping Conference」 https://www.i-qahand.com/Questions/2017060300001
• WIKI- 路徑依賴 https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E8%B7%AF%E5%BE%84%E4%BE%9D%E8%B5%96
• 工研院-自主航行船舶(無人船)發展趨勢 [趨勢新知]
https://www.moea.gov.tw/mns/doit/bulletin/Bulletin.aspx?kind=4&html=1&menu_id=13553&bull_id=5500
• WIKI-多智能體系統 https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-
tw/%E5%A4%9A%E6%99%BA%E8%83%BD%E4%BD%93%E7%B3%BB%E7%BB%9F
• Ropax(roll on/roll off passenger) 介绍 https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/36745343
• roll-on/roll-off ship,ro/ro ship 滚上滚下船
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BB%9A%E4%B8%8A%E6%BB%9A%E4%B8%8B%E8%88%B9/22681074
• Paving the Cow Path : Why You Shouldn’t Pave the Cow Path in Your Business https://agileseeds.com/paving-cow-path/
• 【读书8】《能力陷阱》Competency Trap https://www.jianshu.com/p/f63ffe4bcc8e
• ALMAC- 亞洲電子商貿高速增長創意及品牌 成功兩大關鍵 https://www.almac.hk/main/tc/s/Exclusive-Insights-Shipbob
• 【CDO專欄】資訊長與數據長的功課 https://www.cio.com.tw/cdo-column-information-long-and-data-long/
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