The world has endured a series of disruptive events, and the pandemic has taught valuable lessons that warrant permanent changes in the business landscape. Powerful technologies like cloud applications have become one of the most prominent forces driving business continuity which enable remote work and e-commerce. 

Active approaches regarding the nature of cloud applications driving business continuity have taken an uprise – instilling a glimmer of hope and confidence in the uncertain economy. Employing a Terminal Operating System (TOS) which inherits pure cloud characteristics, has made large-scale remote work possible. As a result, virtual environments have fended off staff layoffs and even help employees cut on expenses typically invested in commuting, laundry, eating out etc. Native-cloud applications award a dual benefit for employers as well, as they can continue to commit and secure supply chains. However, working from home, let alone, adopting a true cloud TOS is still a very new concept in the maritime and container industry. Aside from the most obvious advantage of a true cloud TOS offering work from anywhere at any time, it has fueled business survival by highlighting new and more efficient routes to working. 

Cloud computing has taken prevalence in most sectors as companies across the globe leverage its capabilities to navigate through uncharted waters and progress forward. A breakdown of ways it has developed a better alternative for conducting business involves:

• Shortening the project lifecycle

The timeframe of business remodelling from initiation stages to closure typically concludes over six to eight months. However, given the pandemic enforcing several challenges upon businesses, COVID-19 proved enterprises can pivot with accelerated speeds and adapt to changes over just a matter of weeks. It has challenged numerous leaders to re-evaluate their workflows and think about the speed of adjustment to save on their project budget.

Businesses with established cloud infrastructures supporting a smaller scale of remote work were able to transition into a larger scale with more ease compared to companies which lacked the facilities to accommodate the unprecedented changes. As a result, there is a more substantial focus on automating processes and inducing agility in processes by going cloud. 

• Communication

Accessing data in real-time is equally vital as maintaining information flow between all layers of management. Operational transparency and visibility go hand in hand with communication. Cloud tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have emerged to facilitate meetings and conferences in a period where face-to-face interaction is considered dangerous. In a bid to move forward and ensure communication channels strengthen operational visibility, terminal executives need to employ software infrastructures that are purely in the cloud.

• Learning to predict the future

An established cloud infrastructure presents a foundation for proactivity – a massive benefactor in this rapidly changing environment. If manufacturers, ports, and terminals alike knew about shortages in PPE and spike in blanked sailings, would they have increased production in advance to meet demands? Operating on the cloud can offer powerful benefits due to its ability to process external data such as news feeds from multiple countries and analyse trends on a real-time basis. Pure real-time data will facilitate a dynamic response to significant events in the future and overall better decision-making.

• Facilitating long-term outcomes

Thousands of businesses that once relied on direct face-to-face sales or methods of operating have now invested in building a cloud platform. Realizing the advantages of working from home and extending reach to a worldwide audience has convinced industries to evolve into e-commerce businesses. As a result of employing cloud-native applications to power e-commerce and typical operations, it will help drive a significant rate of sales going forward. The container handling industry and maritime industry have experienced a considerable reformation in the past few months as evaluative factors now prioritize agility, cost-efficiency, environmentally sustainable, responsive to change, etc.

The world has experienced the highest level of change since the global economic crisis. At the same time, resilience and perseverance performed in the initial stages of the crisis played a tribute to the quality of the organization. So far, we have seen businesses achieve incredible outcomes, reinforced in their ability to adopt innovative technologies quickly, and leverage its power.

A key takeaway of staying viable in this continually changing environment requires businesses practising agility and being swift when reacting to unanticipated circumstances. Therefore, having the cloud foundation as a platform of stability builds confidence in the ability that we will have to continue to meet challenges, now and in the future.

The pandemic can prompt an entire restructure of the current framework employed in exercising global supply chain operations. The impacts of stalled shipments, blank sailings, staff layoffs, and overall plummet in consumer sentiments have shackled everyone involved in the supply chain. It has raised significant concerns for countries that predominantly rely on international trade, which may now need to consider diversifying their supply sources.

Earlier on during the outbreak, China enforced a nationwide lockdown that limited any form of movement. Inevitably being the behemoth for manufacturing, their exports could not depart on vessels since logistics halted to a standstill. Consequently, buyers can no longer receive their manufacturing goods or raw materials to continue the supply chain. The economic crisis further propelled a downturn in consumer behavior, which inherently lead container volumes to drop to historic lows. With all this in retrospect, it outlines the magnitude of the impacts that initiate a domino effect, reverberating into all operations and players involved in global trade. Due to the changing and unprecedented circumstances making existing processes inapplicable, businesses worldwide are now reassessing their dependence on China as their leading trade partner.

Some governments have encouraged localizing trade and moving manufacturing activity onshore as an alternative to mitigate the faltering flow of goods in case of a rise from another unprecedented event. The number of vessels downsizing to make shorter trips with fewer containers, as well as an increase in intermodal, freight, and truck activity, would be the likelihood if nations were to enact this pathway. Otherwise, materials and manufacturing will be spread across suppliers equally, diversifying the risks if all op the face of a player unable to supply the resources. Will we witness a manufacturing pivot as the pandemic develops a new era for the economy?