Crisis and Opportunities of “Internet + Shipping”

Shanghai Maritime Court has released the 2015 white paper on maritime jurisdiction, stating that“Internet + shipping” transaction model will be a new growth point for shipping disputes. Then what areas do“Internet + shipping” relate to? What aspects are disputes and risks reflected? Can laws and regulations escort the development of “Internet + shipping” ?

Many industry insiders believe that “Internet + shipping”usually refers to electric shipping merchants and shipping technologies and services related to the Internet. At present, the disputes mentioned above refer to the risks involved in the maritime e-commerce operating process.Shipping companies can be distinguished according to the nature of the platform and business sectors. Platforms are divided into two categories, the first is the e-commerce platform set by owners themselves, which is an extension of its daily operations. The second category is a thirdparty e-commerce platform relying on the Internet, an emerging platform gaining profits in accordance with shipping derivatives. According to the business sector,it is divided into three sections: container ships, bulk carriers and chartering.

At present, the “Internet + shipping” is still in its early stage. One of the respondents believes that “Internet+” itself is characterized by its extensiveness with no boundaries, so “Internet + shipping” is a process changing from the traditional shipping to internet shipping breaking bottlenecks to go towards infinite possibilities. At present,it is precisely because of the stage it is in and the unlimited potential shown from the future, and with the growing scale of development, the number of disputes in this area is also growing. According to the white paper and the industry insiders interviewed by journalists, disputes occurred mainly in four aspects.

One is that after the shippers orders online the shipping company via e-commerce platform, entrusting principal freight to book ships off line with shipping companies,disputes caused by this ordering will frequently occur.

Second is that the there are many risks involved in payment. Online receiving orders, arranging transportation and eventually the payment process all have risks, and there is also payment pressure in the future.

Thirdly, shippers and freight forwarders lack confidence in the internet. Some forwarders intentionally mark down prices, gimmick and increase price after getting orders.There is information missing in completing the form on line, which leads to damage to the goods. And the third party is not responsible for this, which also results in uncertainty in the trust of shippers in e-commerce.

Fourthly, existing legal provisions have specific binding force on offline booking, however, there are legal blind spots for the effectiveness of online booking.

“Internet + shipping” brings convenience and opportunities to the industry in many ways. Accurate positioning and putting problems in perspective, e-commerce business as the third-party shipping business should lay down guidelines for future sustainable development.The development of shipping industry has been in the traditional operation manner. Currently, it needs to turn to the Internet, the accumulation of time and the cultivation of behaviors are essential. Internet e-commerce merchants receiving general recognition in the future need to keep in mind three principles: Honesty is the first guideline, selfdiscipline is the second guideline and the third guideline is to continually exclude all irrational and inaccurate information.

Secondly, shipping companies should play the spirit of “accumulating sand into tower, water into river that runs on even with stones on its way” . To find, avoid and resist together all disputes and chaos harmful to the industry, namely to establish the credit system. The relative successful point in the current industry is that the site will revoke its permission and inform the relevant platform and block the “illegal” users or users lack of good faith, so as to effectively protect clients from losses.

In addition, as regards the internet finance, Jiang Deyi recommends that strengthening cost control is of top priority as a ship company, unnecessary cost must be removed, then combining with their own entity business volume, adjusting the capacity for their ability. It is a hard process to reduce and increase capacity when necessary;however, it is extremely important, which is called “it is difficult for big ships to turn around”. Therefore, this time we need to seek support from Internet finance, strengthen business type match, give up bad business when necessary,actively attack and seek more profitable new business forms. Finally, seeking funds to help, increasing cash flow and ensuring that money is not a problem by increasing financial flow.

From the perspective of laws and regulations, all industries need laws to regulate, new industry model is even more so. The good news is that at the national level related documents may be issued in the future with regard to the development of shipping e-commerce, according to insiders.