The role of a ship agent has changed significantly over the last 30 years. Before the internet made instant communication possible, agents were truly the eyes and ears of ship owners, managers, and charterers on the ground—often making critical decisions, including purchasing, on behalf of their principals. Over time, the ship agent’s role has shrunk; today, there are only a few things that exclusively a ship agent can do.
When we talk to ship owners, managers, and charterers, their top expectation of a ship agent is to be a trusted partner and a knowledgeable local advisor. They want agents to proactively inform them of important issues, solve complex problems, and provide insights when needed. While they are often willing to pay for this premium service, most agents are overstretched and too busy to focus on such high-value, high-touch engagements.
Fortunately, with recent developments in AI, the most time-consuming, manual, and low-value tasks in ship agency can now be automated. This frees up time for agents to focus on providing higher-value services. Some of these port call tasks with high potential for automation include:
- Handling a large volume of communication (email/WhatsApp) and linking it to specific jobs and services
- Preparing Pro-forma Disbursement Account (PDA) invoices for incoming inquiries
- Sharing standard information and answering common customer questions
- Handling crew changes, shipments, and other documentation
- Providing regular updates and visibility during port calls
- Managing invoices, including processing incoming sub-vendor invoices, following up on outstanding payments, and chasing Final Disbursement Account (FDA) settlements
While working with ship agents, we have seen how transformational it is to complete a workflow that used to take 30 minutes in just five. The video below shows how a PDA request requiring lengthy calculations can be handled in minutes:
- The PDA automation tool captures all relevant input from the email inquiry
- It identifies which services are relevant and calculates each line item accurately
- Once the user confirms the services and calculations, the system creates a job inquiry and a PDA that can be sent out immediately without leaving the screen
- This automation takes place within the communication platform where agency teams can collaborate to handle inquiries according to agreed service standards
Based on feedback from agents, we have identified vendor invoice processing and FDA preparation as the next high-potential automation targets. Agents currently spend significant manual effort entering and tallying invoices; automation here will reduce errors and speed up the payment cycle, enabling business growth.
What is your best automation candidate for improving your port calls? Let us know if you would like to discuss how workflow automation can free your teams to focus on growth.
Get in touch with us: [email protected]
Schedule a demo: https://magicport.ai/solutions/smart-port-call-management
