The future of supply chain technology is the ecosystem, not the platform

While some argue the supply chain and logistics industry has been late to the digitalization game, there is no doubt that technology is advancing rapidly in this industry. With this in mind, Ingrid Kylstad, Managing Director of Klaveness Digital – a Norwegian software company specializing in decision-support tools for the maritime industry – advises companies to think in terms of building a technology ecosystem, rather than relying on a universal platform to handle all their needs.

Kylstad points out that as technology develops rapidly, with artificial intelligence and vibe coding, users are gaining the ability to create their own solutions, and all software providers have to coexist with that reality. “We have to enable the customers to create solutions on top of our solutions and extract value from what we provide so they can build something that's even more tailor-made for them,” says Kylstad. “I think that's the nature of the maritime software industry going forward.”

Actionable Insights

Data availability is not a problem today for supply chain leaders, Kylstad observes. The data is abundant, but everyone is asking for actionable insights, so they can move from data overload to data context, so it can support decision making and execution. Translating data into an action – that's a very strong expectation across companies today, she adds.

“Technology will never tell you exactly what will happen in the future, but it can help you understand potential outcomes,” Kylstad elaborates. “The ability to run advanced scenarios is greatly enhanced by AI and using data to understand what happens when you take a specific action. If you change these shipments, how does that play out on the inventory side? Today, you can run multiple scenarios much faster and with much greater detail than you could previously. It can't predict the future, but it gives you a more solid foundation to do a risk assessment and to understand the implications of your decisions. That's where technology can really help in managing the type of volatility that we currently experience in the supply chain, and that I think we will continue to experience for a long time.”

This perspective is about finding the right technology to accomplish specific goals. But today everyone seems to want AI.

“AI is a strategic capability, it's not a standalone tech layer,” Kylstad asserts. “AI does not add value if you don't know what the problem you're solving is. You need to know what you're trying to achieve, otherwise what's the point? At the end of the day, what you will be measured on is how AI creates value. What kind of decision it is translated into. Does it allow you to understand the full risk picture better, and understand your options better? That's what matters.”

Kylstad adds, “Many companies think they need to get AI, but what they really want is value.”

Building An Ecosystem

Kylstad believes the best way to achieve that value is by focusing on a technology ecosystem. “The maritime software space serves so many different stakeholders,” she explains. “Think about the different economic logic that a ship owner applies compared to a cargo owner. The ship owner thinks in dollars per day, while the cargo owner thinks in dollars per ton, and it's difficult to have one single platform to own these different complexities without becoming rigid or extractive. So, I don't think it's tenable or realistic that the shipping industry will arrive one day at one platform to solve all the challenges. I think it goes against the nature of this industry.”

Kylstad continues, “At Klaveness Digital, we have left behind the idea that we can build everything ourselves. Technology advancement is happening very fast and I think in order to stay on top and provide the best service to our customers, we need to partner with other vendors. We need to really align on the value we want to provide for the customer and then build technical solutions to achieve that value.”

Klaveness Digital is a subsidiary of the Klaveness Group, building on the company's 80 years of experience in the maritime industry to serve shipowners, charterers, cargo owners, and logistics professionals with technology solutions. For example, Klaveness Digital offers chartering decision support; the CargoValue supply chain management tool for companies transporting raw materials by sea; and an emissions monitoring solution to provide verified voyage data in one place. Kylstad adds that the company's mission is to make sure their products enable customers to build their own tailored ecosystem, with input from many different technology providers.

“We're a very, very long way away from autonomous vessels negotiating freight between themselves using an AI agent,” Kylstad concludes. “Relationships and experience are still really important in this industry. But it's also important to say that's no longer enough. To be on top of your game, you also have to be good at using data and technology. I think the winners will be those that are able to marry those two sides of doing business – leveraging the relationships and experience with technology to gain data-driven actionable insights.”