Shipping has been an important part of history dating back to the Egyptian coastal sailships of 3200 B.C., predominantly in areas where prosperity has depended primarily on international and interregional trade.  The maritime shipping industry is responsible for moving over approximately 90% of the world’s traded goods.  Entire countries down to your local mom-and-pop stores rely heavily on the success of this industry.

With that said, the shipping industry is currently battling some very strong headwinds due to soaring bunker costs and sinking freight prices, among other things.

Today, we have seen bunker costs represent more than 50% of total costs. Not only have these costs reached record highs – they continually become extremely volatile due to widespread fluctuations in crude oil prices.  Companies must find a way to successfully manage bunker volatility, or they will not fare well in today’s stormy business environment.

A recent article by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), “Fueling a Competitive Advantage: An End-to-End Approach to Cutting Bunker Costs,” proposes a holistic approach to managing bunker costs.  The article, aside from addressing a number of concerns around analytical and organizational complexities, details an important key to success–using real-time decision support tools.

Since all fuel price increases can’t be passed through to customers, the shipping company that best manages price risk will gain competitive advantage. To succeed, shipping companies need enterprise-wide information transparency and fast access to actionable data.

Triple Point’s Softmar Chartering and VesselOps™ is a next generation shipping solution that delivers a complete picture of enterprise position and exposure, and analyzes any combination of cargoes, vessels, load, and discharge operations. It enables the commercial maritime community to protect profits, make more informed and proactive decisions, and streamline day-to-day operations by providing advanced, actionable business intelligence.  Learn more