Data and AI are commercial differentiators for shipping companies
The shipping industry is on the verge of a green transformation brought about by the ability to make decisions supported by data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Companies that join this movement will gain a crucial competitive edge and commercial advantages while doing their part to push wider industry efforts forward.
Bringing it together
At ZeroNorth, we believe the time to connect the dots between the siloed and scattered data landscape. The industry needs data points from across its value chain to be brought together on a common platform so that operators can act and know the impact of their decisions in terms of both dollar and CO2 upsides.
ZeroNorth has the shipping industry’s most informed data eco-system. We have millions of data points. Aided by sophisticated algorithms which perform thousands of calculations in a fraction of a second, we connect the data, evaluate potential optimisation recommendations, and choose the best option that considers commercial outcomes together with safety and emissions reduction potential.
We take a scientific approach to the decision-making process and use evidence-based reasoning to drive decisions forward in the right way, without bias, and with the complexity stripped away to so that the business opportunities come into sharp focus.
A value multiplier
Having data ecosystem knowledge in real time, and decision-making updated within seconds, empowers operators to improve voyage, vessel, bunker and now emissions optimisations.
What is more, there is a multiplier across all these different optimisations, because each affects the other. It is only by looking at the big picture and combining all the different aspects into one holistic optimisation that this multiplier can be revealed and taken advantage of.
To offer our clients the most advanced solutions possible, that is as dynamic as the industry, we have a program of continuous improvement that takes advantage of the concept of the data flywheel: as we bring more data into our platform, we create better products and services, which in turn lead to better decisions for our customers and improvements for the industry.
We then use AI to analyse data about these decisions and how they impact the industry so we can continue to create even better products and even better services. This incredibly positive feedback loop can therefore be designed to continually improve decision making within the sector.
Ultimately, the data flywheel provides more granular and deeper insights into fleet operations and more assurance in the recommendations made by ZeroNorth’s platform. It also brings more connected workflows and all of the benefits associated with this.
Growing sophistication
The data flywheel also allows us to increase the power of our systems. For example, our platform now offers a Green Choice route which combines emissions reduction potential together with safety and commercial outcomes and offers CII rating transparency and optimisation.
We are also currently focusing on the development of new next generation fuel models that help to predict accurately how much fuel vessels are going to consume given all the different conditions and variables that they encounter in the real world – including weather and currents – and taking into account the characteristics of the vessel and its maintenance schedules.
We can do this because data collection and advanced, integrated technologies have now matured to the point where they genuinely provide a clear picture of the reality that a vessel faces on the oceans.
Embracing the future
The advantages of embracing data and AI will become more important as the industry transitions to cleaner fuels. Revenue gains unlocked by ZeroNorth’s platform will allow the industry to manage its transition to low carbon alternative fuels, because every ton of fuel saved through voyage optimisation represents more money that the sector can inject into clean fuel adoption.
Shipping needs the right blend of advanced technological solutions combined with the guiding hand of human expertise to maintain competitiveness while reducing emissions. Imagine a future where owner and charterer have full transparency over vessel performance and marine fuel procurement and can make mutually beneficial decisions.
This type of collaboration will grow throughout the energy transition, so long as it is based securely on the foundation of high-quality data that is secure and connected.
We are excited to be helping our clients harvest the competitive advantages we can already deliver, and ready to empower decision makers further to help to bring about our shared mission of making global trade green.