MAERSK LINE

Change and Innovation in Maersk Line



Change and Innovation in Maersk Line

Introduction

Nowadays, change is the only constant thing in this world. for matching the steps with that of the rest of the world, adopting these changes is necessary. However, adopting these changes is not easy, particularly in the organizations. For the organizations, it is difficult to accept and adopt a change as there are many different people working in the organization and some of them also try to resist the changes. Different methods, forms and techniques are used by the managers for the implementation of the change. Making a change or innovation in the organization is a big process which has an effect on every part of the organization. This paper discusses the change and innovation in the organization and its impact on the organization. The organization selected for this purpose is Maersk Line.

Organization Profile

A.P. Moller-Maersk group is involved in freight forwarding and carriage, logistics, retail, and oil and gas production and exploration activities. The group maintains global presence with its operations spread across 130 countries. The group operates through six business divisions including container activities; retail activity; oil and gas activities; tankers, offshore and other shipping activities; terminal activities; and other businesses (maerskline.com).

The Maersk line is one of the wide containerized part of the AP Moller - Maersk Group. This line is devoted to delivery of the highest level of the customer reliable and focused transportation service in the ocean (maerskline.com). In the wake of the worst year ever for container activities, the group continued its focus on strengthening Maersk Line's competitiveness. In the year 2010, the Maersk line made the shipment of almost the same number as they did in the year 2008, however, the company made a higher profit of about USD 2.2 billion as compared to that in the year 2008. This was mainly because of cost saving and streamlining (maerskline.com). Maersk Line set a new industry standard for on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction reached the highest level ever measured by Maersk Line.

Container activities of the Maersk lines are as follows: 

Container shipment 

Inland haulage 

Customs house brokerage 

Refrigerated services 

Supply chain development 

Warehousing and distribution 

Landside services 

Ocean freight 

Air freight 

Operation and management of container terminals 

Reefer containers 

Innovation Challenges or Opportunities

For determining the challenges and opportunities for the company, firstly the SWOT analysis of the organization needs to be determined.

SWOT Analysis of Maersk Line

Following is the SWOT analysis of the Maersk Line.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Diversified revenue stream

Large scale shipping operations

Acquisition of Brostrom

Strong cash position

Unfunded pension obligations

Legal proceedings likely to hamper corporate image

Opportunities

Threats

Growing marine ports and services market

Acquisition of SK do Brasil

Growing marine freight industry

Competitive pressures

Fluctuating bunker prices

Piracy threat to maritime shipping

Opportunities for the Company

Growing marine ports and services market

Although the global marine ports and services market witnessed accelerating growth over the past few years, it experienced a decline of 12.3% in 2009. However, the market witnessed a recovery in 2010. The global marine ports and services market grew by 11.9% in 2010 to reach a value of $50.3 billion (Hall & Hall, 2007, ...