Network Effects
ext|circ: Your world, interconnected
“We all know that an object’s utility increases pretty much exponentially according to the number of other objects that it can talk to.”
I think everyone from the RIAA to eBay are living proof of this concept. What’s interesting is that in shipping the idea of open exchange of information, let alone systems talking to one another - potentially in a public system - is just beginning to take hold. Yet there is increasing evidence that for security and safety reasons industry and government are coming to the conclusion that full disclosure is required and inevitable. The old argument that it is too hard to provide complete data on where a container has been or on EVERYONE who is receiving a cargo is no longer considered an acceptable answer. Government in particular realizes that pulling the shades away on this type of commercial information will make it easier all around to collect the information and improve security.
Our company is working a lot on XML and EDI systems required by shipping companies to comply with the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the U.S. Customs Automated Manifest System (AMS). There are still huge commercial concerns about the ability of companies to actually collect this information but now there seems to be growing consensus that if all this information were more ‘publicly’ available then the overall administrative burden on everyone would be reduced - a basic network effect. This is not to say that commercial information should ever be disclosed, but shipping is realizing that like the airline industry, there’s nothing secret about the fact that they are carrying cargo from point A to point B so a more open approach to basic required information makes all commercial players lives easier and just may help with security.
The fact that companies move cargo is not their competitive advantage, how well they do this is. The basic information remains the same and sharing this with a wider network could have compelling benefits for the industry as a whole.