Speed is the deciding factor today

A 2024 Spencer Stuart study revealed that 73% of surveyed CEOs believe a fast decision often outperforms waiting for the perfect answer. Speed has become the new benchmark, assumed by clients, investors and partners alike. Tasks that once took months – or even years – are now executed in weeks, days, or hours. Product and technology innovation cycles accelerate, strategic pivots occur in real-time, and crisis management requires an instant response.

Real-time data fuels this acceleration, yet it also introduces new complexity. With information streaming 24/7, chartering professionals must ask: which facts truly matter? What can be discarded? What core insights underpin swift, accurate decisions? Left unchecked, complexity not only slows down choices but ultimately undermines competitive edge. Gartner’s 2023 research shows:

Organisations lose up to 30% of their competitiveness through delayed decision-making.

Complexity is part and parcel of chartering

In chartering, a slow decision can mean a missed profitable fixture. Reliable decision-making rests on a challenging foundation: disparate information channels (emails, calls, multiple data feeds) create a labyrinth of inputs. Add the volatile Dry Bulk market with its fluctuating freight rates, plus the uncertainties of weather, schedules, varied national economies and geopolitical upheaval – and complexity peaks. Achieving the confidence to make quick decisions in such an environment is a formidable task.

How are others reconciling complexity and speed?

You are not alone in facing this dilemma. Take start-ups: under intense time pressure and with limited resources, they must establish themselves swiftly in crowded markets. Yet they lack a robust knowledge base, so they lean on a "fail fast, learn faster" mindset – embracing mistakes to build organisational know-how. The lesson for chartering: You can deliberately cultivate an information advantage, though support may be required (more on that below).

Now, consider Michelin-starred kitchens. Behind the scenes, high-pressure teams make split-second decisions – cooking, seasoning, plating and serving flow like clockwork. Renowned chef Tim Raue puts it bluntly:

“Complaints about stress are for the underperformers. Pressure is every day. I work like an elite athlete.”

Their solution is the centuries-old principle of mise en place ("everything in its place"): precise preparation and layout of every ingredient and utensil before service. The result? When the heat is on, execution is seamless.

What does this mean for chartering? Your challenge is the same: an overwhelming information landscape. By preparing your “mise en place” – organising and structuring your data in advance – you enable fast, accurate decisions when it truly counts.

seabo is your "Mise en Place" for important information

You don’t need to know the location of every pan in a Michelin kitchen – or inspect every dish. But you do need a clear line of sight over every relevant market development and fact. That’s where seabo comes in: your digital mise en place. We aggregate all pivotal data swiftly, comprehensively and on a single dashboard. So you can make informed, efficient decisions without losing sight of the big picture.

Complexity and speed need not conflict. The secret is setting yourself up for rapid decisions: equip yourself with a tool that alleviates workload and helps you separate the vital from the superfluous. That way, you secure what matters most for your business: a sustainable knowledge advantage.

Ready to reduce complexity in your chartering workflow and accelerate your decision-making? Register for free to discover how seabo makes your charter decisions faster and smarter – or to start your free trial today.