Who's the Boss? An alternative view of the logistics chain.

I was raised, in shipping, on 2 single mantra's, 'My word is my bond' and 'Cargo is king,' but I now find myself asking if these are dead, and if this is the case, who is 'the king' now?

Lets start with 'my word is my bond,' basic integrity, starting out in shipping in the 1980's it was hammered into me that shipping was an adventure undertaken by several parties together, in the interests of all. As a result much was taken and negotiated in good faith, meaning that we would tell each other the good and the bad, and this was factored into the negotiation. Problem with the cargo, led to higher freight, while problems with the ship or schedule meant a lower freight. For each cargo and shipment, both parties (as well as their brokers) did their own voyage calculation, so we each new, more or less, what each side was getting.

As one of my best bosses said to me, 'in any negotiation, one is going to win and one is going to lose. You need to make sure you win, but you also need to make sure that your counterpart does not feel like he lost, otherwise he will not come back.' This allowed for a tough negotiation, but with both parties retaining a good relationship ensuring that they were keen to work together again. This was often underlined by a meal paid for by the 'winning' party, something that today's compliance regulations would likely not allow. However that is not my big issue; somewhere along the line, the last part of the quote has been cut out, and now it is purely about winning and making the other guy feel it. This is a very short term view, because down the line it leads to each side negotiating to the bare minimum and service levels being cut to then compensate. Each party wants to boss the other around and not allow them any respect, not cool.

Then to the second part,is Cargo still king? On the face of it, absolutely, is that not what its all about, to move the goods from one place to another, otherwise why are we here and what are we doing? But then, if, by extension, the cargo owners are the queens, who are they treated with such disrespect and fed garbage? why are they lied to, ignored ? Why do certain shipping lines and freight forwarders feel the need to dictate terms, such as the right to route cargo as they want without advising changes in route? Surely, if its all about the movement of cargo, the lines should focus service levels and giving the customer what he wants, INCLUDING open, honest and clear information, instead of just price? or is it that the very cargo owners themselves have sacrificed service levels and information in favour of saving another Dollar? And if this is the case, how can we reclaim service levels, and information, as we enter the information age, without destroying the industry totally?

With the entering of the information age and big data, all the information is available at a mouse click, and there are many out there creating solutions to the problem of clarity in the supply chain, and rightly so. I do however believe that the real long term solution is not in adding systems and layers to it, but to revert back to a simple understanding that we are all trying to achieve the same outcome, that is to move the cargo as quickly and effectively as possible from point A to point B, we are not really competing with anyone, but rather with efficiencies and this is where the focus should be. Even container carriers, only compete on price where all else is equal, and it is lazy selling, AND BUYING, to focus purely on price, as opposed to transit times, turn around times, and ease of tracking and booking.

So lets get back to focusing on working together to make International trade the easy and efficient flow it should be, to improve all of our lives, both at home and work.