Hong Kong-listed Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL) is partnering with Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) in applying artificial intelligence (AI) research to improve its network operations and achieve efficiencies, projecting US$10 million in operational cost savings.
OOCL said their collaboration with MSRA, Microsoft’s research arm in the Asia-Pacific region, is also expected to nurture over 200 AI developers in Hong Kong.
“With MSRA’s efforts and expertise, we expect to save around USD10 million in operation costs annually by applying the AI research and techniques for optimizing shipping network operations from our most recent 15-week engagement,” said Steve Siu, chief information officer of OOCL.
He said the shipping line will embark on an 18-month joint partnership in research and development to apply deep learning and reinforcement learning in shipping network operations.
“Moreover, MSRA will assist us in training over 200 AI engineers by conducting machine learning and deep learning sessions at the Hong Kong Science Park over the next 12 months,” Siu added. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with MSRA to leverage AI research and innovations to drive digital transformation in the shipping industry and to exchange knowledge among our top developers so that we can better address customer needs with advanced technologies and predictive analytics.”
OOCL said that AI is the key in their digital transformation vision. The company has a talent base of over 1,000 developers located in San Jose, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shanghai, and Manila. It has fully embraced a hybrid cloud infrastructure with auto-switching and auto-scaling throughout its businesses and machine learning for several years.
“For example, OOCL processes and analyzes over 30 million vessel data every month. By leveraging AI technology and machine learning, the company develops predictive analytics on vessel schedules and berth activities,” it said.
Added Hsiao-Wuen Hon, corporate vice president of Microsoft, chairman of Microsoft’s Asia-Pacific R&D Group, and managing director of MSRA: “Microsoft’s AI offering is a combination of technology, business model and user experience. Shipping network operations involve multiple parties and variables that can change at any moment. Embracing AI is a complex business challenge in digital transformation. MSRA’s AI research experts have joined forces with OOCL to optimize its existing shipping operations using deep and reinforcement learning, an R&D area that needs top AI researchers and domain experts for business impact validation.”
Photo: Jack Moreh
