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Virtual network improves supply chain risk and disruption management
Uncertainty about shipping arrival times is a major source of dissatisfaction among transport buyers. One solution is the 'Virtual Watch Tower Network' – a Facebook for transport, where everyone has their own page. Information about disruptions to deliveries and other important events is shared between stakeholders, giving cargo owners greater insight into the transport chain.
The self-organised transport ecosystem is made up of many players. In shipping, there are a few large shipping companies, but many more small ones. The number of shipping companies operating on the world's oceans (in 2021) was 15 200. Shipping companies own a total of 56 000 vessels, which visited more than 5 600 ports during the year.
The reality is similar for other transport modes. Complexity and competition contribute to a reluctance – and habit – of sharing information. But now it looks like a change and a rapprochement is underway.
"The patience of goods owners is wearing thin. They are tired of receiving inadequate – and sometimes no – information about when their goods will arrive at their final destination," says Mikael Lind, Senior Researcher at RISE and initiator of the Virtual Watch Tower Network concept.
Predictability creates competitive advantage
In practice, it is not possible to book an exact time for loading or unloading goods. In many cases, the port works on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that many ships circulate in or outside the port for long periods waiting to be served. The cargo often includes containers of goods to be shipped to an end customer.
Mikael Lind uses Stora Enso as an example:
"They buy large amounts of transport every year and want to halve their emissions by 2030 compared to their emissions in 2019. This means that their choice of transport operator is very important, and those who can offer better predictability have a big competitive advantage."
The patience of goods owners is wearing thin
Shared data for greater insight
The idea behind the Virtual Watch Tower, the vision for the solution that a larger community will now co-create, is that everyone who joins agrees to share their data by signing a power of attorney. Everyone in the cargo owner's transport corridors will have access to their own watch tower, where information about important events such as route planning, delays and port readiness will be shared. The aim is to give the cargo owner, who pays for the transport, confidence that any disruptions will be resolved by the parties involved. The level of emissions will also be reported and monitored.
The Virtual Watch Tower Network concept is a further development of the CDM concept that RISE has been working on for many years (see e.g. PortCDM, YardCDM, StationCDM). The common denominator is increased transparency in the transport chain through digitisation. But there is an important difference: while the CDM was designed to coordinate separate transport nodes (railway stations, airports and ports), the Virtual Watch Tower Network concept is an end-to-end solution. It involves all the players involved in a transport operation, regardless of the mode of transport.
Pilot project demonstrates building blocks
RISE, together with its counterpart in Singapore, A*STAR/IHPC, is leading the work to connect stakeholders, but also to create arenas for innovation and demonstration of the system.
"In the pilot project we had 50 stakeholders (cargo owners, transport operators, service providers and research partners) in shipping, rail and road transport. And more are joining. With the Virtual Watch Tower Network, we have found a network solution that recognises the sovereignty of each actor, and that is something that is perceived as very meaningful," says Kenneth Lind, Senior Researcher at RISE and Project Manager for the pilot project.
During Singapore Maritime Week in late April 2023, the RISE Virtual Watch Tower Network demonstrated the concept for the first time in a public context. The next step will be to develop and demonstrate the key building blocks of the concept during a two-year pilot project, funded by Vinnova and its Singaporean counterpart, the Singapore Maritime Institute.
"I see huge potential in this solution. It fills a gap for something that a global industry sees as a challenge. Using digital technology, it is helping to create important value both for the organisation and for society at large," concludes Kenneth Lind.
Virtual Watch Tower Network
Virtual Watch Tower Network (VWT) är en nätverksbaserad systemlösning som byggs, används och styrs av en gemenskap som är ansluten genom en digital middleware som länkar samman de olika gemenskapsmedlemmarnas VWT:er för att driva kollektiv intelligens och samarbete i globala nätverk för försörjningskedjor för att förbättra hanteringen av risker och störningar i försörjningskedjan.
