Standardisation often gets a bad rap, seen as a stifler of creativity or a threat to individuality. But in reality, it’s a powerful tool for innovation.
Despite diverse operational models, the core mission remains the same for all vehicle and passenger ferry operators: to provide safe, reliable, and efficient travel from one destination to another. This shared purpose highlights the value of standardisation—a powerful tool for aligning our varied operations while improving overall industry quality.
Driving Innovation
Standardisation doesn’t come easily in such a diverse industry. Operators differ in vessels, infrastructure, routes, and customer demographics. Yet, the industry continuously innovates to achieve joint efficiencies in many areas. Standardisation creates shared foundations—like safety regulations or operational processes—allowing operators to build on these to differentiate and excel.
The Case for Standardisation
Standardisation isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution. While no single technology fits every operation, shared commonalities unite the industry. Safety regulations, for example, are largely universal. Similarly, reservation systems stand to benefit greatly from standardisation. Unified SaaS platforms streamline booking and check-in processes, improving efficiency, reliability, and overall customer experience.
When operators innovate in isolation, they shoulder the entire cost and effort, often limiting how far they can go. Standardised SaaS solutions, however, enable all operators to benefit from universal updates. New features and improvements are rolled out simultaneously, creating opportunities for shared learning and collective growth.
With a standardised foundation in place, the industry’s baseline is universally elevated, allowing individual operators to focus on building innovations that greatly improve their business.