BTJ 5/2011 - Baltic Press

On the roadsSimplicity of daily cut-offsMy favourite Albert Einsteinquote, apart from “Any foolcan make things bigger, morecomplex, and more violent. Ittakes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage– to move in the opposite direction,” is“Make everything as simple as possible, butnot simpler.”Seven centuries before Einstein, Williamof Ockham created “Ockham’s razor” – theidea stating that in trying tounderstand something, gettingunnecessary informationout of the way is the fastestway to the truth. I wouldn’tbe myself, if I didn’t addsomebody from the jazz sideof life: Charles Mingus alsosupported “making the complicatedsimple, awesomelysimple”, what he considereda true creativity.The world we meet everymorning is more and morecomplex – we cannot justlet things flow and see whatcomes up. Facts and figuresstrike us every minute inreal time; no one waits forone’s proper answer; thechance to get a contractpresents itself twice: the firstand last time. Informationhas gained power over theworld and modern treasurehunters are relentlesslyseeking every snatch of insidestories to reach the top.One of the most vital andvisible examples of such behaviouris the specializationmaking everyday maritimetransport and seaport routinesa countless sequence of questions, answers,offers and unit prices leading to thelonged-for destination. Conclusions mustbe made almost at the moment of enquiryand decision-makers must remember: someis not a number, soon is not a an interval oftime. Otherwise you may hopelessly call toHouston, Texas, USA.Can anyone specify the limits of this, Idare to say, crazy, unbalanced and very oftenabsurd rally? Is there any logical or straightforwardanswer? I can think of one dailyproposal, following the latest global examplecoming from Denmark through London.The answer is… simplifying. Yes, inmy opinion simplifying can make us more12 | Baltic Transport Journal | 5/2011productive. Doing less than more. Getrid of all the inessential stuff on your todolist. Get rid of all the clutter on yourdesk and computer. Focus on one task ata time. No one can do everything that hasto be done – it is not possible. You cannotread everything, write everything, listento everyone or meet everybody. Time isrunning consecutively, always in only onedirection, and – the biggest drama for allThe art of choice is becoming the most preciousadvantage, also in the transport industry.workaholics – it cannot be saved; everysecond is valid and may be utilized in onesecond only. That’s why the art of choiceis becoming the most precious advantage,also in the transport industry. Even whenthe best and only strategy remains “trialvs. error”, execution of inevitable activities.The art of choice and the willpowerto change goes hand in hand leading to asuccessful finish line – the port of expecteddestination.Let’s go global, as simplicity is alsothe core message of the new A.P. Møller-Mærsk plan of reinventing and redefiningits Far East-Europe connection. The conceptis called “Daily Maersk”. Even thoughthis column is not created for in-depthcoverage and analysis of such a story, I willenumerate the most important facts andfigures,, as they were presented by Maersk’sCEO Eivind Kolding on September 12 th ,2011, at Millbank Tower in London.The project will consist of 70 vessels,including the Emma Maersk series, fourports in Asia: Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantianand Tanjung Pelepas and three ports inEurope: Felixstowe, Rotterdamand Bremerhaven.The service will start on24 th October, 2011, andthe first call in Europe isplanned for 19 th of November,2011. The main issue isthe offer of the “conveyorbelt approach” – cargo canbe shipped immediately afterproduction without theneed for storage, with cutoffsperformed every day.The transit time parameteris going to be replaced bytransportation time value;Maersk will pay penaltiesin case the agreed valuesare neglected. Koldingemphasized its simplicity,beneficial to all presentand future customers, andthe absolute reliability ofthe service, presenting thistransparent shipping modelas the most unique solutionof the 21 st century.There is one fact whichis undisputable – we maywitness another originalservice pattern in oceanshipping, which most probablywill change a lot. Whatwill the competition do? What impact willnew sailing schedules have on inventorypolicy and warehousing business in logisticsand distribution services? Will shippers savemillions on their supply chains? Will storageproviders lose the same amount?We are living in interesting times,and more and more often, crisis means achance rather than a loss. Simplifying hasa bright future too, no doubt. So, let’s allmake something, even relatively small, ona daily basis in our office, with an eye focusedon the big game which starts thismonth on the world’s sea routes. Krzysztof Urbaś