Multiplying the benefits of trade

As a global integrator of container logistics we will help reduce complexity in global value chains; empower small businesses to benefit from trade; and support reforms to level the playing field for inclusive global trade.

The issue

Open trade enables prosperity and growth for people and societies. But these benefits are not accessible to all. A.P. Moller - Maersk wants to be a cornerstone of an inclusive and sustainable global trading system that can help eradicate poverty and deliver decent work for all.

The opportunity

Trade is key to prosperity. By making trade simpler, more accessible and more sustainable, our solutions help multiply the benefits of trade. By taking the hassle out of logistics for countries and companies across the globe, including small and medium-sized businesses, we can enable the global trading system to be more inclusive. Ending extreme poverty and generating prosperity and decent jobs for all requires continued support for a global rules-based system that is open, market-based and inclusive.

What we do

As a global integrator of container logistics, A.P. Moller - Maersk is committed to multiplying the benefits of trade. To achieve this goal, we have adopted an ambitious set of commitments to help multiply the benefits of trade. We will use our capabilities to reduce complexity in global value chains, so that more countries and more companies can do business simpler, cleaner, faster and cheaper. We will also work to empower small businesses, the ’conveyer belts’ of innovation and job creation, to have better access to the benefits of trade. Finally, we will actively be supporting reforms to level the playing field for inclusive global trade.

Reduce complexity

We will connect 50% of global containerised trade to digital solutions that reduce supply chain barriers by 2025.

The opportunity 

Trade needs to be simple. By digitising global trade, we can help remove friction in global supply chains, enabling our customers to trade more. Reducing barriers to trade leads to new growth, which has the potential to add 20 million new jobs to the global economy each year by 2030. 

What we do 

A.P. Moller - Maersk and IBM have launched TradeLens, a joint initiative to digitize global trade. Today’s cumbersome and siloed processes for trade documentation, administration and data sharing creates delays and uncertainties in global supply chains. The cost of such barriers by far exceeds the cost of formal tariffs. Using distributed ledger technology, similar to blockchain, TradeLens allows all actors involved in cross-border trade to interact in a simple, secure and real-time environment. This offers significant efficiency gains and new revenue models for all actors in the logistics ecosystem.

Find more information on TradeLens

Empower small businesses
We will have a share of 10% of our total revenue and 30% of our revenue from e-commerce logistics will come from small and medium-sized customers by 2025.
We will help 100,000 SMEs build capacity together with partners, including women-operated businesses, to engage in cross-border trade by 2025.       

Empower small businesses

We will have a share of 10% of our total revenue and 30% of our revenue from e-commerce logistics will come from small and medium-sized customers by 2025.
We will help 100,000 SMEs build capacity together with partners, including women-operated businesses, to engage in cross-border trade by 2025.    

The opportunity

95% of all companies are SMEs and they account for two-thirds of formal sector jobs. Yet they have much less access to the benefits of trade. If we can empower small businesses in trade, we can help make economies more inclusive. We foresee that rapid growth in e-commerce will enable more SMEs to connect with global markets. With the right logistics, this can pave the way for a new generation of small companies integrated in global trade capable of retaining more value from trade and turning this value into decent jobs.

What we do

Twill

Twill, an online digital shipping platform, offers small and medium-sized companies a one-stop solution to view quotes and place bookings instantly, manage related documents, track shipments and proactively address changes to the original plan. Combined with our solutions to digitise trade, stronger customer segmentation and better e-commerce logistics, Twill will help small businesses leapfrog into global trade. 

SheTrades

A.P. Moller - Maersk is a partner to the SheTrades initiative run by the International Trade Centre. The purpose of SheTrades is to enable women entrepreneurs to access the benefits of trade, aiming to connect three million women entrepreneurs to markets by 2021. This is good for inclusion – but it is also just good business. Closing the global economic gender gap could add 26% to annual global GDP by 2025. Together with SheTrades, A.P. Moller - Maersk will help women entrepreneurs in developing countries engage in trade by sharing our expertise on transport and logistics with the women entrepreneurs. 

ConnectAmericas 

We collaborate with ConnectAmericas, a social network for businesses in the Americas, where small and medium-sized enterprises can gain access to customers, suppliers and investors, receive training on international trade and commerce, and access financing opportunities. A.P. Moller - Maersk provides training courses on logistics and we are working with the International Development Bank and other ConnectAmericas partners to enable a payment mechanism directly on the platform.

Level the trading field

We will support 30 countries in implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by 2025 in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitiation.

The opportunity

The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, which came into force in 2017, is a concrete example of how the world uses the multilateral system to drive progress. Companies in developing countries pay a particularly high price for informal barriers to trade. Traffic congestions and administrative barriers popularly known as ‘red tape’ – cause delays that result in additional costs related to storage, inventory, and penalties for exporters and importers. For many, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, these costs can make the difference between trading and not trading. Trade facilitation reform is key to making trade cheaper, faster and more inclusive.

What we do

As a member of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, A.P. Moller - Maersk provides its expertise in support of trade facilitation projects in developing countries. We contribute to reform projects in a number of countries. One example is Ghana – an important hub for regional and international business in West Africa – where the Alliance works with the government and the private sector to introduce fully automated, paperless customs processing. This will significantly speed up clearance and release of goods thereby contributing to a better business environment.

Find more information on Global Alliance

Learn more about 2019 progress.