The ROI of digital transformation for maritime email

Digitalisation, no longer a nice-to-have

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, operational efficiency has become paramount for organisations aiming to thrive amidst external challenges, ranging from flexible working practices and inflation to de-carbonization and geopolitical tensions. A recent report by Pitchbook predicts that the global supply chain technology market will exceed $6 trillion by 2025. As businesses face these complexities, there’s relatively quick wins that can be implemented to enhance operational efficiency.

In this blog, we'll delve into key insights from a comprehensive study that explores the return on investment (ROI) of transitioning from traditional email platforms to tools that surface the email data you need. We'll highlight the key results, research methodology, and how these tools reduce operational friction and save valuable time. In this blog we’ve summarised the findings of our ROI report, if you’d like to see the full detail, download the report. The data in this report looked at users of Sedna, a data-driven communication platform that maximises efficiency and exposes hidden value from email.

High level ROI of maritime email digitalisation

Time Savings

On average, Sedna saves users two hours per day that would have been spent on manual tasks like filing, archiving, searching, and forwarding. This equates to $2,066 SGD worth of employee time saved per month or $24,800 SGD per year.

Quick Payback 

The annual cost of investing in Sedna per employee breaks even after just one month of using the platform. In other words, the software pays for itself within a month, representing a 12x ROI on the initial investment.

High Renewal Rates

Data shows that 99% of organisations renew or expand their service level agreements with Sedna after the first 12 months, indicating sustained recognition of its operational efficiencies.

Research Methodology 

Measurements used

To arrive at these insights, the study interviewed multiple customers, all of which were mid-large size global enterprises within the supply chain. The research focused on two key metrics:

Return on Investment (ROI): This metric calculated the average monthly cost savings as a result of time saved per employee, minus the monthly cost of managing email with Sedna.

Payback Period: This metric measured the average number of days it took for time-saving benefits per employee to equal the initial investment in the platform.

Calculating the ROI

The interviewees in the study faced unique challenges, but a common thread emerged - the substantial time saved by removing manual tasks. Sedna, on average, saves users two hours per day. Using the average ship operator salary in Singapore as a benchmark ($93,000 SGD per year or $7,750 SGD per month), we calculated that this saves $2,066 SGD worth of employee time every month – or $24,800 SGD per year. With Sedna's monthly cost per user at $178 SGD, this results in a remarkable 12x ROI within just one month.

Moreover, we can see that 99% of organisations renew or expand their service level agreements after the first 12 months. This reveals that organisations quickly realise the operational efficiencies Sedna offers and seek to maintain these benefits over the long term.

How Sedna Reduces Operational Friction

Sedna's impact on operational efficiency is profound in two key areas:

Efficient Information Management: Traditional email platforms rely on inefficient and inconsistent folder systems for information management. Sedna replaces manual filing with tags, simplifying categorization, storage, and retrieval. Manual filing in traditional email platforms takes 5-15 seconds per email. In the case of our customer Glencore, each user was receiving and processing 1,300 emails per day prior to using Sedna – that’s 108 minutes per day (1 hours 48 minutes).

Streamlined Search and Retrieval: In traditional email systems, archiving and managing large folders are time-consuming tasks that hinder information retrieval. Sedna ensures fast performance even when searching across vast archives, ensuring documents are always accessible. Prior to investing in Sedna, users at MOL Chemical Tankers spent 40 seconds per email finding the right information, compared to just five seconds with Sedna’s rapid search functionality. 

So, is maritime email digitalisation worth it?

The study's findings demonstrate that Sedna pays for itself within a month and consistently delivers long-term value. To explore these insights further and gain a deeper understanding of how Sedna can benefit your organisation, you can download the full report.

As the global supply chain technology market continues to grow, staying ahead of the curve with tools like Sedna can make all the difference in achieving success and profitability in a complex and dynamic business environment.