The tide is turning in the maritime sector: 5 mega trends for 2022

Never the front runner, but the maritime sector is taking big steps and this year's developments should not be brushed aside. Over the past year we have kept a close eye on the market, our clients and general developments. On the basis of that knowledge we are writing a trend analysis this year for digitalisation in the maritime sector.

Previously, digitalisation in the maritime sector happened mainly on the product or production side. As a result, digital marketing and digital transformation opportunities were underexposed and insufficiently exploited. In 2021, however, we saw a strong change. Through conversations with more than 40 maritime, offshore and adjacent companies, and through other trend reports, we sketch an expectation of the trends and developments in digitalisation for 2022. Both in the area of digital marketing and in the area of further digital transformation in the sector.

Before we start, some context:

What is digitalisation?

Digitalisation is making analogue and manual processes digital.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the discipline through which a company's marketing objectives can be realised by using online and interactive media, online channels and online concepts.

What is digital transformation?

Digital transformation is the process by which analogue or manual activities in companies are organised partly or wholly in digital form.

In this trend analysis we cover the following 5 subjects:

1. The added value of employees
2. The acceleration of digital marketing
3. The website is not a ‘by-product’
4. B2B e-commerce as a sales machine
5. The Internet of Things is the future in maritime

1. The added value of employees

In most conversations it quickly became clear to us. The reports we read supported it. The maritime sector too is urgently looking for staff. As the technology on ships becomes more complex, the demands and qualifications for personnel will increase further in the coming years. The balance is also changing partly because of digitalisation. Shore activities such as ship registration will run more easily and quickly, which means fewer staff are needed in shipping company offices. Operational work can also be taken over well by ‘smart digital processes’.

These trends mean a shift will take place in the coming years in how staff are deployed. Less execution and more monitoring and managing is the trend we see in the sector. It does mean processes have to be organised to change or ‘smarten up’ how staff are deployed. At the companies we spoke to we see a clear movement in which administrative staff gain greater added value because simple tasks are replaced in digital transformations. Think of developing digital customer environments for ordering products, or software dashboards that make processes visible and automate them. That allows existing staff to provide precisely the service customers in the maritime sector expect, and to maintain personal contact.

All the while, processes that used to be analogue increasingly run digitally and automatically. This trend eases the pressure on organisations to attract new talent and means staff can really focus on looking after customers.

2. The acceleration of digital marketing

The maritime sector is generally set up in a fairly conservative way. The audience is used to physical contact, and trade fairs are therefore still an important part of maintaining existing relationships and pursuing new business opportunities. The coronavirus pandemic, however, threw a spanner in the works for the organisations that still did the bulk of their business that way. But this forced way of ‘rethinking’ also brings a change in the culture and marketing strategy of many maritime companies.

Over the past year we already saw an acceleration in the sector in the area of digital marketing, with a focus on online marketing. Front runners in the sector deliberately chose to invest less heavily in old sales strategies and to spend less on trade fairs. Instead the proverbial helm was almost literally turned, and more and more maritime companies began organising themselves digitally when it comes to marketing.

Over the past year we saw growing demand in the number of requests for developing websites and online lead funnels. The number of enquiries about B2B online marketing strategies also rose sharply.

This trend continues in 2022 and even accelerates further. That opportunity is at the same time a threat for organisations that have not started on it yet, because the competitive playing field in the digital domain keeps growing. That means more and more companies are advertising online on Google and other advertising channels, which puts pressure on advertising budgets. We expect maritime companies to set to work in the coming years making their online marketing strategies smarter still.

3. The website is not a ‘by-product’

The word ‘by-product’, or ‘we did it on the side’, came up often during Microsoft Teams calls with our clients over the past year. Across the whole sector you can see that many companies have not put the website or digital products at the centre of their business or proposition in recent years.

This year, however, we see a strong change in that. Both because of demographic developments - the audience is getting younger and more digital - and because of the coronavirus pandemic, there is now urgency to give the corporate website a more central role in the marketing strategy and proposition of maritime companies.

Over the past year, virtually all of the 40-plus companies said they would like to make their corporate website the central domain in their marketing strategy in 2021 or 2022. The website thereby becomes the ‘front door’ for maritime companies. It is essential to offer the right information and service to existing and new customers looking for a partner.

In 2022 the website will be an important item on the agenda for many maritime companies, and many organisations will invest in a new digital environment. The most important points that came out of our conversations are:

• Usability
• Being service-oriented
• Clarity of our proposition and unique selling points
• A clear overview of products
• The ability to generate hard and soft conversions

So pay close attention, because the expectation is that a lot of maritime companies will have a redesigned and rebuilt website by the end of this year, one that is even more user-friendly and encourages conversion in a smart way.

4. B2B e-commerce as a sales machine

Earlier in this trend analysis we noted that many processes in the maritime sector are still analogue. There are many suppliers who still take and handle orders by phone or even by fax. Very inefficient, and costly time when you think of the staff shortage we mentioned earlier in this blog.

That is why in 2022 we see purchasing and sales processes being digitalised. Often that takes the form of B2B e-commerce, in which maritime companies develop customer portals set up around the customer's needs and the agreements made with them.

The expectation is that this can deliver a reduction of up to 50% in traditional processes. That happens because ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems of both the customer and the supplier can be connected to these digital customer portals .

Order lists from the captain on a ship can be approved directly by the superintendent at a shipping company and pushed straight through to a supplier. That supplier in turn immediately knows whether products are in stock and what price agreements are in place with the customer. 

The flip side of this trend is that there is still a group that did not grow up digital. That group often prefers to keep the analogue processes in place as long as possible. That poses a threat to the continuity of maritime companies, because among buyers too there is an influx of new staff who are increasingly ‘used to’ digital.

5. The Internet of Things is the future in maritime

With the Internet of Things (IoT), interconnected devices and components can exchange data over a network without human intervention. That makes it possible for products which previously could not communicate with each other, such as containers, to exchange information after all. This trend does of course depend on the availability of internet at sea, but more and more solutions are available for that, such as satellite connections. IoT is one of the biggest trends for the future of the maritime sector, because in this sector it is crucial to have information about ships, equipment or cargo, for example. There are ever more far-reaching solutions for gathering information and these will show themselves even more in 2022.

From our conversations and from general trends in the sector we see that more and more maritime companies are considering investing in IoT solutions and software dashboards. That way they can properly monitor where their ships or cargo are, or how equipment on a ship is performing.

Curious about the possibilities?

Those were the 5 most important trends in the maritime sector for 2022. Do you work in the maritime sector and are you curious about the ways we can help you digitalise? Then get in touch, with no obligation, for a cup of coffee at our office in Rotterdam!