Maersk, Ashdod Port to collaborate on logistics, supply chain innovation

Ashdod Port Company has signed an agreement with Maersk North America to collaborate on innovation opportunities in supply chain logistics.

The agreement was signed at the Manifest conference in Las Vegas, one of the largest logistics conferences in the world.

Over 3,000 visitors from 50 countries participate in the conference, along with 1,000 startups and investors and 250 CEOs from leading companies such as Schneider, DHL, and Siemens.

The agreement will enable Israeli startups that are participating in Ashdod Port’s Blue Ocean for Startups technology incubator to be considered for pilot projects in North America to test the proposed technologies in landside operations.

“The Board of Directors and the management of Ashdod Port are continuing their efforts to expand Ashdod Port’s collaboration around the world, as we promote new technologies and innovation in the logistics industry. This type of collaboration is critical, so we can upgrade the entire supply chain, the source of the modern global economy, and make it more efficient. We are excited to collaborate with Maersk in North America,” Orna Hozman Bechor, Chairman of the Board of Ashdod Port, commented.

“The pandemic highlighted the importance of supply chains to constantly improve. This new partnership enables us to accelerate and test technology and new ideas in our operational processes using Ashdod Port’s tech incubator,” Erez Agmoni, Maersk North America’s Senior Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Growth, added.

The announcement builds on an earlier innovation agreement Maersk signed in 2021 with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Transportation & Logistics.

An agreement that takes advantage of MIT’s engineering expertise and data scientist teams to research new ways of improving Maersk North America’s logistics and data processes.

Recently, Maersk revealed it has appointed a new executive leadership team as the company kick-starts the year under the helm of Vincent Clerc as CEO.

The management expansion decision comes ahead of the expected market normalization and a challenging period ahead as freight rates start to go down following a pandemic-driven shipping surge.