Maersk invests in integrated logistics

From a shipping company to an integrated logistics operator, the maritime giant Maersk is investing in providing end-to-end solutions for its clients. According to Karin Schöner, Maersk’s General Manager for the East Coast of South America, the company has been investing in preventive analyses to create solutions that meet customer needs in the face of adversities.

“Many external factors can interfere with logistics. This year, for example, has been very challenging for cargo transportation: wars, downpours in southern Brazil, drought in the northern region of the country, as well as the Panama Canal. To ensure our customers will receive their cargo at the right time, we need to develop strategies to circumvent these complex situations,” she says. “We also had a bumper cotton crop, which overloaded port operations, and an auditor’s strike,” she adds.

According to the executive, many players struggle to organize themselves, so the company took the initiative to offer door-to-door solutions that encompass plans A, B, and C for diversities. In a particular situation, for example, we can transfer cargo from maritime to air transport within 24 hours. “We have to have everything orchestrated.”

“We also invest in preventive analyses. For example, our vessels are programmed to gather information about the weather. The Aliança ships sail along the entire Brazilian coast, collecting data. So, we know in advance that the river levels are dropping, and we pass on the information to our customers and offer alternative solutions. That’s the advantage of working with integrated logistics,” explains Maersk’s General Manager for the East Coast of South America.

According to Karin Schöner, in addition to long-haul and cabotage maritime transport, the company provides air transport, rail transshipment, road solutions, and storage. The Maersk group currently has 7 million square meters of storage space and eight aircraft in its global operation.

The executive explains that Maersk develops the best logistics strategy for each operation on a case-by-case basis. Often, this includes implementing a pilot project to test the solution beforehand and observe its advantages.

Another growing concern among clients is environmental action, and Maersk is investing in ships that use non-polluting fuels to address this issue. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutrality. A.P. Moller-Maersk is about to launch the first of 18 high-capacity methanol-powered ships it has ordered. The vessel will enter service on the AE7 route, connecting Asia and Europe, on February 9, 2024, with stops in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, and Hamburg, with Ningbo, China, as its first destination.

The container ship built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea has a nominal capacity of 16,000 containers (TEUs). It is equipped with a dual-fuel engine, allowing it to operate on methanol, as well as biodiesel and conventional fuel.

This initiative is part of the company’s agenda to achieve its global net-zero goal by 2040 across all its businesses. It is based on establishing tangible and ambitious short-term goals until 2030 to ensure significant progress.

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