Isabella Tan and Gaspar Dax Sorbito reflect on building digital tools for an analog industry

*Image: Klaveness Developers Isabella Tan and Gaspar Dax Sorbito from the Klaveness Singapore office*

Oslo, 8 April 2025 - Digitalization is picking up speed in shipping, but in dry bulk — where spreadsheets, PDFs, and emails still dominate much of the workflow — there’s still a long way to go. For developers stepping in from tech-focused environments, it can feel like entering a different world.

For Isabella Tan and Gaspar Dax Sorbito, two Klaveness developers, that contrast is exactly what makes the work meaningful — building tools that fit how people really work, and helping push the industry forward one feature at a time.

Bridging two very different worlds

“Coming from tech, I’ve noticed shipping puts a lot more emphasis on fitting into the user’s established workflow,” Tan explains. “It’s about making their job easier — and that’s quite different from tech-focused environments, where the priority is often on performance, scalability, or experimenting with the latest technologies.”

Sorbito agrees: “The terminology alone can be overwhelming at first, but understanding the domain is part of the job — and so is adapting your expectations. It’s not just about pushing the newest and flashiest features, it’s about delivering the right ones.”

Both developers highlight that in a smaller, product-focused team, prioritization is everything. “You’re constantly balancing what the user needs with what can realistically be delivered,” Sorbito adds. “In an industry built on established ways of working, it’s a chance to apply real judgement and product thinking — figuring out which solutions will actually make a difference.”

Data, fragmentation — and the challenge of simplicity

One of the biggest hurdles in dry bulk? Data fragmentation.

“Information is scattered across different stakeholders, systems, emails, PDFs, spreadsheets… there’s very little standardization,” Tan says. “That makes it difficult to generate meaningful insights or even get a consistent picture of what’s going on.”

That’s where developers come in — translating complex, messy data environments into useful tools that offer clarity and value.

Tan points to Port Predictor, a product the team has been developing as an example. “Estimating whether a vessel will arrive within its laycan window is often guesswork. We use AIS data and congestion estimates to give users a more informed prediction — but it’s not just about the data science. We had to design it in a way that fits how people actually think about the problem.”

And that’s what sets Klaveness apart in this field, says Sorbito. “We’re not just building features — we’re working to understand each customer’s specific pain points and tailor our approach. The goal is to find new ways of working that give our customers more opportunities to improve earnings and create real value.”

From reactive to proactive

Looking ahead, both developers believe the industry is ripe for transformation.

“There’s huge potential in moving from reactive operations to proactive decision-making,” Tan says. “Technology can give stakeholders better visibility into port schedules, vessel status, and congestion — and ultimately improve how freight is managed.”

Sorbito adds that AI will likely play a supporting role. “Imagine being able to recommend decisions, summarize reports, or even analyze sentiment in customer feedback. But to get there, you first need a centralized, trusted source of information.”

Again, that’s where developers come in — not just building tools, but helping shape the very foundation that makes smart, data-driven shipping possible.

Balancing innovation with trust

For all the talk of transformation, both developers are quick to emphasize one thing: reliability comes first.

“In an industry like this, trust is everything,” Tan says. “That means being clear about who has access to what, building with security in mind, and making sure that we’re never putting clients’ data at risk.”

Sorbito agrees, noting that security is built into the foundation of their work. “We design with these principles from the start, and we audit ourselves regularly. It’s not something we treat lightly.”

The unlikely match that works

So what’s it really like being a developer in shipping?

“It’s not your typical tech job,” Tan says. “But that’s what I like about it. We’re not just churning out products and features — we’re trying to make something that genuinely helps people in a space that hasn’t always had this kind of support.”

Sorbito adds that it takes a particular mindset to thrive in this space. “You just have to be patient, curious, and willing to learn. The payoff is when someone says, ‘Hey, this actually made my day easier’ — that’s the win.”

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