Dear Container lines, Please Stop fooling yourselves!

Dear Container operators and port agents,

This is not a complaint, but a plea, in all honesty and sincerity. It could just as easily be expanded to the ports themselves to, we are your clients. You are their clients, so you need to take it up with them.

PRETTY PLEASE, STOP FOOLING YOURSELVES AND GIVE US ACCURATE INFORMATION!!

I say this as a plea! Once again I have had, several shipments on multiple lines, where cargo timing is key, yet the information we have received on the agents and liner websites is over optimistic and not accurate. In a modern world, where we can simply go onto vessel tracker or marine traffic and see where the vessels currently are, its fairly easy to work out that the information we are giving is wrong.

In my latest case, I have a cargo for Cape Town on a vessel that has already bypassed the port because of congestion there. Now, I feel sorry for the lines, and understand why this was done, and certainly no one can be blamed for that. Now, however, 24 hours before the vessel is due back in Cape Town the agent is still giving ETA of tomorrow, but the vessel that is still on Port Elizabeth. It is highly unlikely! A second shipment on another vessel at another port was due to berth on Saturday. According to the agents it berthed, yet online sites show it still sitting off its port on Monday morning and suddenly giving berthing expected for the Tuesday, which is also I doubt is accurate either. (update, the vessel berthed Wednesday)

This is where the blame game starts. The normal way is for the forwarding agents to blame the port or the line. The shipping line and/or port then throwing the blame back at the agents by saying they should have been aware of the delays which were beyond their control. My aim here is not to discuss or attribute blame, but rather ascertain a mutually beneficial information flow.

Its much more fundamental that that. We need to get the information flow accurate, its not how bad it is, but how accurate it is. We cannot position people and equipment to be reaady pick the container up, deliver and unpack it, only to be told, sorry, its delayed. It costs time and money each time we do this. In a project environment other work is planned around these deliveries, so there is a trickle on affect too.

Yes, I know that the lines will then blame customer expectations. We want five star service, but are only prepared to pay one star prices. We all need to look at ourselves and start considering our priorities. Maybe we can pay little more for more information or accuracy, or for more control on the routing and shipment time. Maybe its time for shippers and receivers get out of this price driven only mode and look more at the whole service package. I am equally sure that if a shipping line gave a proper undertaking to deliver on time, they would also receive more support, but they need to back this up with commitments to this service and proof.

I remember a similar situation in the late 1990's when the lines actually offered valued credits if they fell back, and trade papers published deviations from schedule. It worked, but am not sure anyone would give any of these things now, yet this is precisely the type of initiative that is required, with buy in from the ports. I was with Maersk Line at the time and we were extremely proud of our service levels around schedule, and published it proudly on a weekly or monthly basis, around the world. Would anyone do that now?

We need to reconnect with the value-add added by the various parties, and then actually stand up and be accountable for these performances, not just then lines, but all the service providers in the transport chain. Only then can we start to show an industry moving forward.

Anyone think this is achievable?