Maersk doubles down on logistics with integration of Inland Services

Dive Brief:

A.P. Moller - Maersk said Thursday it will integrate APM Terminals' Inland Services division into Maersk's Logistics and Services division beginning Aug. 1 — a move the Danish carrier called "a next step" in its strategy to offer customers end-to-end solutions.
Inland Services offers services for shipping line and landside customers, including container equipment maintenance, transportation, warehousing and temperature-controlled storage.
The shift will allow APM Terminals to "fully focus on becoming a world-class port operator," Maersk said. APM Terminals will continue offering services at ports and terminals, such as storage and handling.

Dive Insight:

Maersk made a promise in 2016 to announce a major restructuring of its business in September 2018. The Danish company has certainly lived up to that promise, beginning last September with the announcement Maersk Line and Damco would merge at the start of 2019.

Since then, Maersk has restructured and integrated various parts of its business as it seeks to become a one-stop-shop for its shipper customers. In February, Maersk acquired customs broker Vandegrift, tripling the staff and transactions of the carrier's North America brokerage services. The carrier added digital customs clearance to its portfolio last month, a move aimed to save customers time and eliminate intermediaries.

At the same time, Maersk has spun off other divisions it sees as non-essential to its core offering, such as its oil drilling business.

The integration of Inland Services is the latest in this series of moves to focus on end-to-end logistics solutions. "It puts Maersk in an even better position to differentiate its offering," Søren Toft, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Maersk, said in a press release.

Inland Services, as the name implies, offers Maersk greater connections between sea and land, beyond the port of call. Shippers may find convenience in the ability to book shipping services and subsequent transportation and storage through one company, although Maersk's continued expansion of service offerings creates murky waters for the future of freight forwarders.