The podcast with Andreas Canel from Northbound gave us deep insights into the world of container management and LogTech startups. Andreas impressively demonstrated why pragmatism and an understanding of the smallest details are crucial in logistics – whether you're managing a 1,000-person team at Amazon or building a new startup. The focus was particularly on Demurrage & Detention – a cost block that is still too often overlooked in many companies.
Why Your Team Needs More Than Just Expertise
A central idea from Andreas: judgment is often more important than pure expertise. He illustrated this insight with his experiences in seafaring and during his MBA studies. While many fellow students excelled with theoretical knowledge, ultimately the ability to solve real, practical problems made the difference.
In the LogTech sector, this is a crucial point: You can have read all the textbooks on Supply Chain Management – but if you're not willing to get your hands dirty and really go to the shop floor to understand problems in detail, you will never find the best solutions.
Jannik felt this directly: the management level quickly blurs the picture. Only those who are willing to peel the onion layer by layer get to the core of the matter. This is not always easy, especially when a startup wants to grow quickly and needs to maintain focus. But precisely this attention to detail is the foundation for scalable products.
Demurrage & Detention: The 1.24 Billion Euro Blind Spot
The central theme with Andreas: the often-overlooked problem of Demurrage & Detention costs. For those unfamiliar with it – these are penalty fees that shipping companies charge when:
- Containers stand too long in the port (Demurrage)
- Containers are returned empty too late (Detention)
Andreas quoted impressive figures: For Hapag-Lloyd alone, these costs amounted to 1.24 billion euros in 2023 – a billion-euro market that many shippers are not even aware of.
Northbound's Solution: More Than Just Transparency
Andreas and his team at Northbound have tackled exactly this problem. Their mission: to eliminate these unnecessary costs for the shipping industry. This works via a platform that:
- Provides real-time visibility over all containers and associated costs
- Creates a top 10 list of the biggest cost drivers, so it's immediately clear where action needs to be taken
- Automates invoice verification to detect incorrect or excessive fees
The last point is particularly relevant. Often, invoices are so intransparent that manual verification is almost impossible. With Northbound's solution, it becomes exactly visible which penalty costs were actually incurred and which were not. Even better: the system makes it possible to clarify who is at fault and return costs to the right partner – for example, if they fail to pick up a container on time.
From Transparency to Intelligent Action
A fascinating thought from the conversation: Transparency alone is not enough. Many companies already have real-time visibility, but what matters is what you do with the data. How do you derive concrete actions that lead to real improvements?
This is exactly where Northbound comes in. They purchase visibility data to develop solutions that offer real added value:
- Automatic invoice verification
- AI agents that read customs documents and detect inconsistencies before containers get stuck in customs
These are the next evolutionary steps in the LogTech world: away from pure data collection, towards intelligent process optimization.
As Andreas aptly put it: "In the supply chain, it either works or it doesn't – there's not much in between." It's about creating a system that alerts you to problems early and simultaneously provides the tools to proactively solve them.
Conclusion: Problem Understanding as an Innovation Driver
The podcast with Andreas Canel is a perfect example of how innovative LogTech solutions emerge from a deep understanding of problems. The combination of practical experience, technological innovation, and the courage to tackle complex problems makes the difference.
What do you think? Should companies invest more in training their employees to handle new technologies, or primarily in the technology itself?
#LogTech #Logistics #Startup #SupplyChain #Demurrage #Innovation
