Don't wait for the "Uber" of maritime

Recently I met with—check that—had a Microsoft Teams video chat with a shipping executive about market intelligence.   He has decades worth of  experience in the bunker industry, which is why I sought his insight about the topic, “The state of market intelligence and analytics for maritime.”   We spoke for more than an hour about a wide range of topics.

When we finished, I clicked the red phone icon to end the chat. After some thought, I found myself returning to one particular thing he said and when I did, the mantra “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the very good” took semi-permanent residence in my mind for a few days.   Here's the context.

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the very good”

The industry, he said, has a dream about market intelligence and analytics, he said.  It dreams of an all-seeing, all-knowing  technology that

• contains complete, up-to-the-minute and 100% accurate data;
• reveals what cargoes are available and at what price;
• instantly matches supply and demand based on trip length and vessel type;
• eliminates intermediaries, and
• provides complete data security

Here's the thing he said that manifested the mantra above:

 “What we wish for, David” he said, “is the Uber of the maritime industry.”

“What we wish for, David” he said, “is the Uber of the maritime industry.”

Wow.  Simple.  Compelling.

Yet troublesome, too.  

For me, that phrase summarizes both the aspirations of the industry and its frustrations in moving forward.  We want our dream platform and we want it NOW.  But, if we can’t have the dream, why bother changing at all?

In other words, if you can have the perfect—a maritime Uber—then why even try for the very good? 

Is the lack of the platform itself what holds the industry from going for the "very good"?  Maybe.

 We need imagination

More likely there are other reasons.  “Yesterday’s thinking is holding back maritime from embracing the mindset needed today. The key mental activity required in this thinking shift is imagination” said Ali I Riaz, chairman and CEO of OrbitMI.

'The key mental activity required in this thinking shift is imagination"

Let's start there.  Let's change our thinking.  Let's begin to imagine what the industry could be.  

Doing that?  Well, that's progress.

It's not perfect. 

But it's very good.