Most of the product teams we work with use market research to inform significant decisions like capital investments and procurement decisions. On top of this, sales leaders use market research to understand where they should point their team.
Good market research can be like a lighthouse on a stormy night. "Should we continue investing in our TPEB trade lanes?" "What lanes do we need to invest in so we can differentiate and win in the furniture market?" "We have this Italy-Savannah relationship that seems special, is that worth investing in?" All of these questions can help you point your team in the right direction or make key procurement decisions that can give you a competitive edge or waste money.
Today, most teams handle market research by exporting shipment data from Panjiva, Datamyne, or Revenue Vessel. Analysts or Product team members export 10,000 shipments at a time, potentially hundreds of times, load the data into a single excel, and then build models on top of it. This work is time consuming, often taking hours to answer a single question. Due to this, it's hard to ask follow up questions, and leadership is limited to a few questions before they need to set down a strategy or make a decision. If sales leaders want to turn market research into actionable lists that their team can pursue, good luck. Connecting the trade data to contact data can take hours more on legacy platforms (although it's faster in Revenue Vessel)
Dockhand can run market research for you with a single question. Ask Dockhand something like:
Give me import trends in furniture through east coast ports over the last 3 years plus this year to date. Show volume growth, the top importers, how origin countries and lanes are shifting, and who's growing or shrinking fastest. Call out anything that looks like an opening for my service from Italy to Savannah
Walk away, grab a coffee, or answer emails. In minutes, Dockhand has run the research for you:
With helpful break downs across the market, like port of unlading break downs:
Origin break downs:
importer break downs:
And with specific take aways and visualizations for you primary research question:
If you want to customize the report you get, just be more specific as to what you need, and Dockhand can build custom visualizations for you that are leadership-meeting ready. If you have follow ups, just ask them in chat, and Dockhand will adjust the report as needed to create the complete picture that will give you an informed decision every time.
In case you're a sales leader using market research to build a campaign, Dockhand can easily take the extra step and build a list of leads that are ready for your sales reps to start to call. For example, in the research above where we asked about a hypothetical Italy->Savannah offering, Dockhand was able to generate a target list of 39 Italian importers doing volume to the East Coast that might benefit from switching their volume to Savannah.
These lists can also be edited easily by asking Dockhand to adjust your target. Just say the word.
Market research is an important part of decision making at logistic companies, but it eats a lot of time from your day-to-day. By using Dockhand as your own mini-analyst and avoiding hours of number crunching, you free up time for the strategic and creative thinking that drives your bottom line.
