Post-pandemic liner shipping: a revised Kano model of freight e-commerce

• Main Author: Shu, Ning
• Other Authors: Teo Chee Chong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Business::International business::International trade; Engineering::Maritime studies::Maritime management and business; Social sciences::Economic theory::International trade
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/163698
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is riding high on pandemic booms. In the liner shipping industry, the post-pandemic era has witnessed a strategic shift from traditional offline sales to freight e-commerce, where shippers purchase maritime services on e-platforms owned by major container carriers (liner giants). As the industry has struggled for decades with problems of carriers’ overselling and shippers’ cancellation, freight e-commerce today offers a clearly defined two-way commitment with penalty fees for both customers and carriers in case of non-compliance. Nevertheless, the increasingly volatile market under normalisation and decarbonisation has exerted considerable pressure on liners’ online revenue, along with the reduced bargaining power of container liners and more wait-and-see attitudes of customers. Thus, growth strategies of e-platforms are worth tackling from the perspective of major liners, who aim to survive the upcoming overcapacity and maximise revenue. Filling research gaps between commercial liner shipping and freight e-commerce, this report reviews how liner giants manage the existing problems and maximise freight revenue. A revised Kano model is proposed to incorporate the post-pandemic context and recommend liner giants to improve consumer trust and platform compatibility. Subsequently, a case study of two fastest-growing freight e-commerce platforms in liner shipping evaluates liners’ competitiveness by applying the model. Finally, the report concludes with suggestions for future research and advises liners to prioritise digitalising investment in freight service upgrades and to offer green shipping options online.