NYK Lines: Competitive Advantage Through Marketing & Services

This report provides a detailed analysis of NYK Lines' marketing strategy and service offerings, focusing on how the company leverages its portfolio to achieve a competitive advantage in the global logistics and shipping industry. It examines the services offered, including linear trade, air cargo transportation, logistics, bulk shipping, and real estate, and identifies the customers and value provided. The report also discusses the company's strategic direction, synergies between services, corporate strategy, and core business offerings, highlighting the measurable benefits and initiatives like "Staying ahead 2022 with digitization and green." The analysis incorporates the marketing mix model to assess how NYK Lines integrates marketing principles into its overall strategy, demonstrating an understanding of key marketing concepts and models. This document is available on Desklib, where students can access a wealth of study resources, including past papers and solved assignments.

Strategic management and marketing

Marketing 1
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Services offered by NYK lines..............................................................................................................2
Customers of the company.....................................................................................................................3
The value provided by the services to the business and the customers...................................................4
The direction was chosen by the company and the service offerings.....................................................4
Synergies between the various services.................................................................................................5
Corporate strategy and core business offering.......................................................................................5
Measurable benefits to the business.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................8
Appendices..........................................................................................................................................10
Appendices 1...................................................................................................................................10
Appendices 2...................................................................................................................................10
Appendices 3...................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The strategic marketing is all about identifying customer needs and forms a marketing plan to
attain customer satisfaction, enhanced company performance and increased revenue. It acts as
guide to the organization and helps in gaining competitive advantage. This report defines the
marketing management of NYK lines. The NYK lines offer services from global logistics to
bulk shipping. The company is having headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. NYK lines was
established in 1870. At present, the company is known as the twelfth largest shipping line. It
operates over 800 vessels comprising ships, woodchip carriers, LNG carriers, car carriers, and
reefer carriers. The container ship fleet includes over 150 vessels. NYK lines are having 240
offices in 27 countries. It is the mission of the company to “bring value to life”. The company
always strives to create value to create customers with trusted and reliable partners. This
report includes the service offered by NYK lines. The customers of the company are
identified in this report. The report also includes the value provided by the services to the
customers and businesses. The direction chosen by the company along with the service
offering is described. The synergies between the various services have been defined. Further,
corporate strategy and core business offering has been discussed. Finally, the measurable
benefits of NYK lines has been discussed.
Services offered by NYK lines
The NYK lines are involved in the business of the global logistics business comprising liner
trade, air cargo transportation, bulk shipping business, logistics business, real estate business
and other business activities. The services offered by NYK lines are defined below in detail:
Linear trade: The linear trade service entails of the container shipping and terminal. The
container shipping comprises primarily carriages general consumer goods. The terminal
business provides services like terminal and stevedoring services worldwide. An enormous
variety of goods like food, commodities, and electronics are transported by the container
shipping (Balci, Cetin, and Tanyeri, 2018).
Air cargo transportation business: Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. (NCA) is a subordinate of
the NYK lines in the air cargo transportation business. It offers worldwide air cargo services
connecting Japan to North America, Asia, and Europe. NCA strives safe processes and
pursues to be air cargo specialists with a prominent position in the international market in

Marketing 3
terms of costs and services quality (Cotorcea, Nistor, and Popa, 2017).
Logistics business: NYK lines make use of the network linking global bases to offer inclusive
service for enhancing whole logistics from warehousing and distribution to ocean and air
freight accelerating. The logistics business is reacting to the growing intricate requirements of
supply chain management. The supply chain optimization generally comprises retrieving the
most appropriate location and quickly countering to the market demand within globalization
and intense market competition.
Bulk shipping business: The bulk shipping business comprises wholly marine transportation
businesses other than the linear trade business. The safe, high-quality transport services,
international sales, and marketing network have received high appraisals from the customers
globally. This business comprises car transportation division, dry bulk carrier division, energy
transportation division (LNG), energy transportation division (offshore business) and energy
transportation division.
Real estate business: The efficient management of NYK’s real estate property assets is
managed by the Yusen Real Estate Corporation. This corporation succeeds both commercial
and residential buildings in order to exploit the value of the NYK lines. They are expert in the
business and certify efficient management (Donnely, 2017).
Other business activities: Other than the sales of the petroleum products and marine
equipment, NYK lines conduct ship agency business, restaurants, cruise vessel business and
more. The company is also engaged in the technology development by dedicating great
energy to the research and development of the transport systems which is capable of meeting
whole customer requirements in the segments like environment, safety, vessel operations,
energy savings and more.
Customers of the company
The individuals or the businesses who need logistics services are identified as customers of
NYK lines. The customers can avail the service within the nation or other nation. The NYK
lines encourage customers by offering a wide range of services. The customers drive and
maximize the revenue growth of the company in order to create sustainable business over
time. The customers can know the rate schedules, vessel schedules, trade maps, bill of lading

Marketing 4
terms and conditions along with the agent details. NYK lines pursue to maintain long term
relationships with the customers and gain their loyalty.
The value provided by the services to the business and the customers
It is the mission of NYK lines to contribute to the betterment of the societies worldwide
through its business activities. The company is proudly enhancing the quality of the life of
many people and is plan states the corporate vision and is aware of the responsibility
towards businesses and global trade. NYK lines have launched a medium-term management
plan identified as “Staying ahead 2022 with digitization and green”. This plan states the
corporate vision and management approach. The approach is intended to attain sustainable
growth by expeditiously adapting fast-changing business environments by mainly
emphasizing on digitalization and green initiatives. The organization is committed to the
business and customers through safe and stable operations. The company challenges itself to
offer new value to society. Ocean network express (ONE) is a management company settled
in Singapore by the company to integrate the linear divisions of K line (Dulebenets, 2018).
It is having a fleet of almost 240 vessels comprising thirty ultra-large containerships. It
covers almost a hundred nations around the globe. It caters the different needs of the
customers by a reactive service.
NYK lines offer value to the customers with the terminal and stevedoring services under the
linear trade business. This service is provided for containerships, pure car carriers and cruise
ships at terminals. Add on the company offers a complete range of the logistics package
covering sea, air, and land. The needs of the customers are satisfied with the global logistics.
On the other side, NYK lines conduct research and developmental activities to meet the
needs of the customers. The company offers value to the customers through the vessel
operations, environment, safety, energy savings and more. The company even established
logistics technology institute to intensify research and developmental activities.
The direction was chosen by the company and the service offerings
The medium-term management model is used by the company as a marketing mix model. It
is known as “staying ahead 2022 with digitization and green”. This model states the vision
of NYK along with the management model for the next five years active from April 2018. It
is helpful in attaining sustainable growth by expeditiously acclimating to varying business
growth. Now days surrounded business environment is uncertain as a consequence of the

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volatile shipping market condition which is arising from geopolitical risk and rapid
technological evolution (Edirisinghe, Jin, and Wijeratne, 2018).
In order to survive in the undefined times, NYK lines will take appropriate actions for
reducing effects of the market volatility and enhance profits by reconfiguring the business
portfolio. It secures the stable freight rate business (Zhu, et al. 2019). The company will
even hasten its growth by advancing the activities with emphasizing on digitalization and
green. NYK faces the challenge of transforming environmentally sustainable along with
producing innovative values in the field of renewable energy. The company ideally
combines its core competencies with the advanced technologies available in the market. The
company is going to deliver new values with staying a step ahead spirit. Each and every
employee will be developed by the realization and materialization skills (Jerebić, and
Pavlin, 2018).
Synergies between the various services
The services of the NYK lines such as linear trade, logistics business, air cargo
transportation, bulk shipping business, real estate business and other business services. All
the services provided are covered in the global logistics business. All the services coordinate
the movement of people in order to flow everything smoothly. The logistics services
provided by the company are involved in the trade activities at both the national and
international level. It has a significant protagonist in attaining the competitive advantage of
the business entities engaged in the obtaining and selling in the global trade. All the business
of the NYK lines has the role of the third party as it provides goods from one place to
another. A network is utilized to connect global bases in order to offer comprehensive
services. These even optimize the entire logistics (Lee, and Song, 2015).
Corporate strategy and core business offering
The corporate strategy undertakes some concept like growth, stability, and environment.
NYK lines have undertaken a corporate strategy to meet dynamic demands for the
transportation primarily for natural resources and energy along with expanding operations in
developing countries and growth regions. The company is actively working on the fleets to
meet vital demand for transportation specifically for natural resources and energy (Yalcin,
Chakravorty, and Yun, 2019). The stability is also focused on the strategy in order to
promote core customer program aiming to bolster customer-focused services. It is making

Marketing 6
efforts to acquire long term contracts with the domestic and international customers in the
natural resources and energy transport sectors. The strategy will enable to maintain a sound
financial position. The third concept undertaken is the environment; NYK fulfills all the
government responsibilities as a global corporate citizen. The company follows all the
safety precautions over the earth, at sea and in the air (MeersmanSys, Van de Voorde, and
Vanelslander, 2018).
The core offering of NYK lines is the logistics business. This segment responds to the
intricate needs of the supply chain management with the collective land, sea, and air
transport solutions. It comprises accessing the most appropriate location and rapidly reacting
to market demand (Verhetsel, Vanelslander, and Balliauw, 2016). This group meets the need
of the customers through a complete logistics package covering land, sea, and air. The
company offers efficient logistics services and react to the customer’s expanding
international logistics needs. Yusen logistics company runs almost six hundred logistics in
more than forty nations through sea, air, and land among the great number of locations
worldwide. It includes various sites around the world like North America, Europe and China
(Notteboom, 2017).
Measurable benefits to the business
A worldwide economic crisis was faced in 2008 which led to a deterioration in the cargo
movement. But a regular recovery was made by NYK through the medium and long term
projection for the cargo movement. It constantly increased the response and resulted in the
stable economic growth within Asia and resource-rich countries (Shin, et al. 2017). NYK
lines were benefitted by assimilating the linear operations of K line and started operations in
April 2018. It is a fleet of 240 vessels and can cover more than a hundred around the globe.
It assisted the company in meeting the changing needs of the customers by a receptive
service. In the segment of air cargo transportation business, Nippon Cargo Airlines is the
subsidiary of NYK. Nippon utilized next generation cargo aircraft which is superior in
operating performance along with the environmental performance (Van den Berg, and De
Langen, 2015). It has great fuel efficiency and reduces noise along with the Co2 emissions.
Throughout the years the company has developed itself an efficient logistics service
provider and responses to the logistics requirements of the customers globally. Right now
the company is operating almost six hundred logistics centers in more than forty countries.

Marketing 7
It is capable of offering transport services through land, sea, and air at the large locations
worldwide. The bulk shipping service offered by the company is secure and of high quality
(Yang, and Lu, 2018). The marketing network of the company has even earned high
evaluations from customers around the globe. The real estate of the business is one of the
most profitable segments and it manages both commercial and residential buildings. It has
even maximized the value of real property assets (Notteboom, et al. 2017). It specifies the
business to certify efficient management (Akita, 2018).
NYK lines have benefited by conducting innovation activities. The company received an
award for innovation at the Bond Awards, 2019. It was identified for the innovative use of
bond proceeds in order to invest in the eco-friendly technologies. NYK is even identified as
the first shipping company to issue a labeled green bond and the order book attained strong
demand from investors and reached at a handsome amount of 26 million yen against a 10
billion yen issue amount (Van den Berg, and De Langen, 2015). This issuance supported the
company in expanding its investor base.
Conclusion
NYK lines are successfully conducting operations such as global logistics business
comprising liner trade, air cargo transportation, bulk shipping business, logistics business,
real estate business and other business activities. The company is capable of offering
efficient services through its various segments. The linear trade service involves container
shipping and terminal. The container shipping contains principally carriages general
consumer goods. Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. is a subsidiary of the NYK lines in the air
cargo transportation business. It offers worldwide air cargo services to various nations. The
logistics business is responding to the growing intricated requirements of supply chain
management. The bulk shipping business includes solely marine transportation businesses
other than the linear trade business. The real estate property assets of NYK are managed by
the Yusen Real Estate Corporation. Other than this, NYK lines conduct ship agency
business, restaurants, cruise vessel business and more. The company is proudly enhancing
the quality of the life of many people. NYK lines have a role in taking appropriate actions
for dropping effects of the market volatility and enhance profits by reconfiguring the
business portfolio. All the services of the company coordinate the movement of people in
order to flow everything smoothly. The corporate strategy undertakes growth, stability, and

Marketing 8
environment. NYK lines have made significant benefit through its service segments and
continue to rise.
References
Akita, S., 2018. Intra-Asian Competition and Collaboration against the West: The NYK
Bombay Line, Tata & Sons, and Indian Cotton at the End of the Nineteenth Century. Asian
Review of World Histories, 6(2), pp.277-293.
Balci, G., Cetin, I.B. and Tanyeri, M., 2018. Differentiation of container shipping services in
Turkey. Transport Policy, 61, pp.26-35.
Cotorcea, A., Nistor, F. and Popa, C., 2017. Key trends in the global port due to traffic
volumes. Naval Academy Scientific Bulletin, 20, pp.48-51.
Cotorcea, A., Nistor, F. and Popa, C., 2017. Key trends in the global port due to traffic
volumes. Naval Academy Scientific Bulletin, 20, pp.48-51.
Donnely, D.L., 2017. Charting a new course: Northern Endeavour Shipping Pte Ltd v Owners
of NYK Isabel. South African Law Journal, 134(3), pp.453-465.
Dulebenets, M.A., 2018. Minimizing the total liner shipping route service costs via
application of an efficient collaborative agreement. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent
Transportation Systems, (99), pp.1-14.
Edirisinghe, L., Jin, Z. and Wijeratne, A.W., 2018. The reality of container exchange between
shipping lines: Clearing the pathway to virtual container yard. Transport Policy, 72, pp.55-66.
Jerebić, V. and Pavlin, S., 2018. Global Economy Crisis and its Impact on Operational
Container Carrier’s Strategy. Promet-Traffic&Transportation, 30(2), pp.187-194.
Lee, E.S. and Song, D.W., 2015. Competition and co-operation in maritime logistics
operations. In Handbook of Ocean Container Transport Logistics (pp. 477-496). Springer,
Cham.
Meersman, H., Sys, C., Van de Voorde, E. and Vanelslander, T., 2018. Competition and the
container liner shipping industry. In Handbook of International Trade and Transportation.
Edward Elgar Publishing.

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Notteboom, T., 2017. Port co-operation and competition in Europe: business practices and
policy initiatives (Doctoral dissertation, NTU, Singapore).
Notteboom, T.E., Parola, F., Satta, G. and Pallis, A.A., 2017. The relationship between port
choice and terminal involvement of alliance members in container shipping. Journal of
Transport Geography, 64, pp.158-173.
Shin, Y., Thai, V.V., Grewal, D. and Kim, Y., 2017. Do corporate sustainable management
activities improve customer satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention?
Empirical evidence from the shipping industry. The International Journal of Logistics
Management, 28(2), pp.555-570.
Van den Berg, R. and De Langen, P.W., 2015. Assessing the intermodal value proposition of
shipping lines: Attitudes of shippers and forwarders. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 17(1),
pp.32-51.
Van den Berg, R. and De Langen, P.W., 2015. Towards an ‘inland terminal centred’value
proposition. Maritime Policy & Management, 42(5), pp.499-515.
Verhetsel, A., Vanelslander, T. and Balliauw, M., 2016. Maritime world cities: development
of the global maritime management network. International journal of shipping and transport
logistics, 8(3), pp.294-317.
Yalcin, M.G., Chakravorty, S.S. and Yun, G., 2019. Informing the Balanced Theory of Port
Competitiveness Using Ambidextrous Supply Chain Strategy. Transportation Journal, 58(1),
pp.21-37.
Yang, C.C. and Lu, C.S., 2018. Shipping business strategies in the Taiwanese maritime
industry. Maritime Business and Economics: Asian Perspectives.
Zhu, S., Zheng, S., Ge, Y.E., Fu, X., Sampaio, B. and Jiang, C., 2019. Vertical integration and
its implications to port expansion. Maritime Policy & Management, pp.1-19.

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Appendices
Appendices 1
(Competitive Analysis of NYK)
Appendices 2

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(Porter’s five forces)
Appendices 3
(Basic Strategies of "Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green")