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Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund wins Next Generation Shipping Award

Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund has been revealed as the winner of this year’s Lloyd’s List Next Generation Shipping Award. Berglund, who co-founded the benchmarking and market intelligence platform for containerized ocean freight in 2012, was awarded the title at a gala dinner yesterday evening at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.

The accolade recognises the year’s most noteworthy “young, up–and–coming shipping industry leader, one who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry.”

Berglund was quick to point out that it’s the Xeneta platform, and the team, that are most deserving of the recognition.

He explains: “Before the Xeneta software platform was launched shippers had to rely on static, out-dated information, released a handful of times a year, to gain an overview of what they should pay for their cargoes. We have turned that on its head.

“By crowdsourcing data from more than 600 major international businesses, giving us up to the minute information across over 17 million contracted rates, covering more than 60,000 port-to-port pairings, we can give our clients a real-time snapshot of exactly what the market is doing. This means that everyone through the logistics chain – from shippers, to freight forwarders and the container ship companies themselves – can benchmark what they’re paying/charging against true market conditions.

“In many ways we’ve flicked the light switch on in a market that was previously opaque. Xeneta provides the transparency this segment has been yearning for and I think that is what won this prestigious award, not individual achievements.”

The award comes in what has been a pivotal year for Berglund and his Oslo-based team. In 2016 Xeneta has expanded its database to 17 million contracted rates, and just this month, opened its first office outside Norway, moving into a new base in Manhattan, New York. In addition, the company has plans to open a German office in Hamburg in Q4.

“The business is growing fast and that is a reflection of the global value of the service we provide,” Berglund notes. “In a market as dynamic as container shipping, where rates constantly fluctuate and structural shifts can happen overnight – just look at the impact of Hanjin’s demise for example – it pays to utilise the potential of big data such as ours and stay abreast of the very latest trends.

“Every business needs to manage its logistics costs to achieve optimal value, and that’s exactly what our software enables.”

Speaking of the decision to pick Berglund from a competitive field of young shipping leaders, the judging committee said the following: This year’s next generation winner is an individual who exemplifies the up and coming generation of industry executive – a true disruptor. He has the potential to help define how accepted business processes in shipping will work thanks to the price comparison platform for containterised freight he has created with the Xeneta team. He is, in the words of our judges, someone who shows impressive development and real entrepreneurship.

The Lloyd’s List awards were chosen by an expert judging panel made up of shipping industry leaders such as Angus Frew, Secretary General and CEO, BIMCO, Chris Welsh MBE, Secretary General, Global Shippers' Forum, Katharina Stanzel, Managing Director, Intertanko, and Robert Ashdown, Secretary General, International Association of Classification Societies.

Other winners on the night included Stena Weco (ClassNK Tanker Operator of the Year), Hapag-Lloyd (Containership Operator of the Year), China Merchants Port Holdings (Port Operator of the Year) and CMA CGM (Company of the Year) amongst others.

“This is a great achievement for us,” Berglund concludes. “It shows how fresh thinking and digital developments can challenge accepted models and create competitive advantages for users. This is all about the future of shipping, and we’re delighted that Lloyd’s List, and the judges, believe we have such a strong role to play in that.”