Digitization in maritime logistics—What is there and what is missing?

TLDR

Global seaports drive the world economy, with container traffic and ship sizes rising rapidly, making maritime logistics ripe for Big Data and digital technologies, though risks such as data abuse and cybercrime remain. Based on a systematic literature review, this article overviews the current state of digitization in maritime logistics, identifies problem areas, and proposes improvement potentials. The study finds that capturing development potential is essential to reap digitization benefits, yet research remains nascent with limited theoretical and empirical work to guide actionable recommendations.

Abstract

The global seaports are of pivotal importance for the world economy. Since 1990, global container traffic has grown by an average of 10% annually. Equally, the steady growth of ship sizes poses major logistical and technical problems worldwide. Given these facts, shipping and maritime logistics would largely benefit from Big Data as well as the emerging digital technologies. Apart from the many positive effects of digitization in maritime logistics with respect to efficiency, safety and energy saving, there are, however, also risks (e.g. data abuse, cybercrime). Based on a systematic literature review, this article provides an overview of the current state of digitization in maritime logistics, discusses existing problem areas, and shows potential for improvement. The results show that it is essential to capture the development potential in order to be able to benefit from the advantages. However, research is still in its initial stages, and there is a lack of theoretical and empirical work as well as explanatory approaches to appropriate recommendations for action and restructuring.