By Mamta Sharma, ET CONTRIBUTORS, Updated Mar 18, 2019, 03.16 PM IST

When it comes to the age-old logistic and shipping industry, digitalisation still remains a challenge. Evolving customer expectations, however, has made it crucial for the companies in the sector to keep up with the digital age. In order to meet evolving business needs and stay ahead in the game, Danish shipping giant Maersk is ushering changes in the industry by integrating new technologies into the traditional processes with the help of their startup accelerator program, OceanPro.

Set up in 2018 under the leadership of Sriram Narayanasami, Global Commercial Process Head, Maersk, the first cohort of the OceanPro accelerator program recently showcased their AR-VR solutions post the 120-day intensive training program in Bangalore.

The cohort consisted of seven startups: Zasti (Artificial Intelligence), Inatrix (Machine Learning), MintM (Computer Vision), KrypC (Block Chain), LinkedDots (IoT), LaVela Pictures (Virtual Reality) and one internal startup, Dhruv (Data Mining). Incorporating new age technologies such as Virtual Reality, Blockchain and IOT among others, these startups have come up with solutions to address a wide range of subjects ranging from customer experience, digital training, and equipment maintenance to t ..

The cohort consisted of seven startups: Zazti(Artificial Intelligence), Inatrix(Machine Learning), MintM(Computer Vision), KrypC(Block Chain), LinkedDots(IoT), LaVela Pictures(Virtual Reality) and one internal startup, Dhruv(Data Mining). Incorporating new age technologies such as Virtual Reality, Blockchain and IOT among others, these startups have come up with solutions to address a wide range of subjects ranging from customer experience, digital training, and equipment maintenance to tracking the inter-modal location of a container on a real-time basis.

Talking about OceanPro in context of the overall transformation at Maersk, Chief Transformation Officer and Head of its Global Service Centres, Navneet Kapoor said,"As the world's largest shipping and logistics company operating in 120 countries, Maersk carries 20 percent of world's trade on it. We are a 100-year-old company and an iconic brand across the world and we are also a company that in the middle of a significant transformation like many large old economy buinesses."

Kapoor says this transformation is about becoming a global integrator of container logistics, moving from being leaders in the shipping world to an end-to-end logistic player and as part of that the company wants to accelerate its journey to become a sustainably growing profitable company.

"Transfromation are hard, especially for large companies like ours and there is a lot happening in that regard. Technology is key a part in that transformation, innovation is a key element of that and being in Bangalore it is our responsibility to partner with this amazing startup eco-system which is best in the world to accelerate our transformation,“ says Kapoor.