Competing in Asian Market

Samudera Shipping Line, Ltd

Samudera Shipping Line, Ltd as a subsidiary company of PT. Samudera Indonesia Tbk which known one of the biggest regional shipping in servicing inter Asia trades. In the mid of high competition and many players in Asian region, in 2005 Samudera Shipping Line, Ltd could register a profit after tax of $83.3 million, an increase by 52.1% from $54.8 million in the previous year (Business overview of SSL, 2005). This financial performance became challenging to develop its business and preparing for high competition. In order to fulfill this ambition, Samudera Shipping Line, Ltd (SSL) should has a good concept in marketing and developing the business in response to market needs

In shipping business, there are four main Key Sucess factors (KSF) that determine shipping company (liner) can success in their area.

1. Price orientation

Generally, freight could change reflecting to market condition (supply and demand). Liners will push to increase its freight in condition they are facing shortage container or market show that vessel's space supply is less than volume demand (customer). Therefore, customes have no options to re-negotiate increasing their freight to shipping line. Vice versa, once market change that space supply is higher that demand volume, customer will push to liner to revise their freight lower.

Usuallly in whole period in Asian Market, customer have a strong bargaining position in negotiating to freight (price). Especially for customers who have a lot of volume in regular delivery (weekly). They setup by using global bidding in their regional office (e.g. Singapore, Hongkong, Korea) in order to get gurantee long term validity of freight from shipping line. By review of market projection in next period, shipping line will consider in what level should offer to global bidding. It will guarantee to get volume in regular basis.

2. Good transit time and punctual of delivering shedule

Usually customer prefer to load their shipment/cargo by using vessel that could provide fast transit time and punctual schedule. Exporter consider to choose liner who can provide direct vessel instead of transhipment via Singapore port. By using direct vessel, it can guarantee in time arrival at port of discharge without any delay or roll over cargo at

transhipment port (singapore). Meaning, buyer (consignee) will be happy tha cargo arrive on time, and it will give good impact to next order.

3. Flexibility in freetime detention

Sometimes, cargo readiness in port of loading has not been followed by readiness of accepting cargo at buyer (port of discharge). It will arise problem in holding container in port or stack in wharehouse exceed from normal prosedure. In this term, exporter/ importer will ask to extend freetime detention until unstuffed container.

4. Good relationship (customer and supplier, competitors)

By having a good relationship to customer, it build loyalty and really usefull to manage fluctuation of balancing market's suppy and demand. Customer still consider to share their cargo in low season. Usually, our rivals became our partner in joining in the same service. Or, sometimes, our analysis is not feasible to deploy a new service, then we have to manage buying slot to partner which sometime they are our rivals. By having a good relationship, we can get competitive buying rate from other liners.

External Analysis :

Generally in container shipping business, we can classify into two major product namely SOC (Shipper Own Container) and COC (Carrier Own Container). In SOC term, the carrier only provide space vessel, the boxes belong to shipper or exporter. Secondly, in COC term, the carrier provide both space and the container to shipper or exporter.
Mostly, manufacturers/shippers are using carrier’s boxes to deliver their cargo. Shipper pick up container from Carrier’s depo to be stuffed at their wharehouse, then bring the containers to port loaded onto the vessel.

In Asian market, there are three characteristics identifying shipping business.

a.. High interdependency with national market

Development of moving export-import is really depend on national market on each country around Asia. Usually, export-import between two countries weren’t balance. Threfore, liner should think hard how to manage the boxes in order do not stack too long in one country. It is the same to manage a routing vessel.

b. Increasing number of supply boxes coming to Indonesia

Indonesia is a great country with attractive market for shipping lines who intend to create good profits. By this condition, Liners have thrown a lot of boxes into Indonesia.
But, by developing regulation and policies in taxes and labor issues, it caused many factories closed down and relocated production to Vietnam and Philippine, it seen the market growth did not attractive as expected. Ultimately, market in Indonesia, especially Jakarta, is facing over with container supply.

c. Related to change technologies and product innovation ?

Customer preferences have switched from delivering good with competitive freights to delivering with competitive freight, fast documentation, and customer able to trace cargo position. This condition has been responded by improving their IT system which connecting to shipper and consignee (buyer) in document matter, and also cargo tracking system that customer can trace last position of their cargo during delivering.