SMM Hamburg: 3 things you should know about maritime digital transformation

August 11 2022

SMM Hamburg: the countdown has begun. This largest maritime fair in the world is dedicated to digital transformation. As a visitor of SMM, this topic is so diverse that we are keen to inform you of everything to ensure you are properly prepared for this wonderful fair. This article will first look at the difference between maritime digitalization and digital transformation. Secondly, we will give you useful tips on where to start with digital transformation and what it will do for you. Finally, we'll give you tips to prepare well for SMM and being truly innovative with your maritime digital transformation.

Making choices at SMM Hamburg: maritime digitalization or maritime digital transformation?

Maritime digitalization, maritime digital transformation; it might sound overwhelming. Although there are certain similarities, there are also differences between the two definitions: maritime digitalization means that you start to manage existing maritime processes with software. Maritime digital transformation means exploring the new possibilities offered by digitalization. The word transformation says it all; you change intelligently. With digital transformation, for example, you switch from keeping track of shipbuilding processes, such as equipment lists or documents in Excel, to a smart data management program.

Digital transformation at SMM Hamburg 2022: This is how you truly innovate

Digital transformation in the maritime sector requires more than buying a software package and hoping for the best. That usually leads to failures. Don't forget that most maritime companies have worked digitally for a long time already. The step to digital transformation, therefore, requires careful preparation. The most important question is: what qualities does my organisation (people and processes) need to make the transformation successful? Involve all relevant departments and people in this process. Once this is clear and the quality of your organization is known, you can start preparing for success. Nautically speaking, you’re going to set waypoints. The questions you need to ask are:
  • What aspects of your business need (deeper) digital transformation?
  • When should you implement your new digitalisation strategy to fundamentally change your way of working?
  • What members of your team will drive the digitalisation change-over?
  • Which software tool are you going to use?
Realistic planning is necessary and also important. Look whether the people have sufficient quality to be able to do this. If not, first start a training program.

Digital transformation: the advantages

The advantages of digital transformation are significant, provided you follow the various steps described above. First, your data quality will increase by no less than 30%. This is because you will be working with your project information in a different way. You move away from saving everything in hundreds of Word and Excel documents to central management of your information. It goes without saying that this does something good for your data. And because your data is accurate, the financial performance of your projects will improve. And last but not least, the best thing about digital transformation. It makes your work and the work of your colleagues much more enjoyable. Because: the time you spend searching for information decreases enormously. 80%, to be precise.

SMM 2022 tips

Now you are well prepared to go to SMM, right? But how do you know whether the parties you are talking will benefit you? Does the software look neat? OK, but ask this question: how will your solution make me, my colleagues and my entire company happy? You also ask what the proven return on investment is. And to conclude, ask how easily this party's solution fits into your company's existing ICT ecosystem. With these 3 tips, you can now go to SMM 2022 well-prepared.