Maersk Line emerged winner of the Best Shipping Line (Asia-Europe) Award for the 21st consecutive year at the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA).

The firm's management is buoyant that recently introduced changes in its management have borne fruits.

In his acknowledgment speech, Maersk Line Asia-Pacific chief executive, Jesper Praestensgaard, said the company had started to witness improvement in the day-to-day business processes and interaction with customers since implementation of the StreamLINE programme.

Although plagued by issues of compatibility and profitability after the acquisition of P&O Nedloyd, Maersk Line introduced the StreamLINE programme in January with the main goal of pushing decision making closer to its customers.

Under the reorganisation, Maersk reduced its global work force by up to 3,000 positions out of 25,000, while container inland services were separated.

The main element of the restructuring, according to the management, was to reduce its regional organisation into smaller teams and push decision making closer to its customers

Last week, Mr Praestensgaard announced that the shipping line's country organisation was equipped with greater autonomy to make decisions that were closer to customers.

"A core focus of StreamLINE is to raise the bar on reliable customer service delivery by providing faster, more responsive service to customers.

Maersk Line country organisations are now also equipped with greater autonomy to make decisions that are closer to customers," said Mr Praestensgaard during celebrations at the AFSCA ceremony in Singapore.

Maersk Line also clinched the coveted Best Global Shipping Line award for the 15th year running.

The awards are a reflection of the comprehensive and reliable end-to-end transportation solutions that Maersk Line offers customers through its global service network, he remarked.

The Maersk Line fleet consists of more than 500 container vessels with a capacity of more than 1.7 million TEUs.

Through a network of its own offices and third party agents in more than 125 countries, Maersk Line continues to provide consistent and high-quality service to customers worldwide.

The company has 11 streams on the Asia-Europe route, the latest Asia-Europe 11 or AE11 route was introduced to support shipments from Asia to Spain.

The company says the restructuring of the Asia-Europe routes has also brought enhanced coverage of markets in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and business partners for their continued support over the years, and for once again nominating us for the best shipping liner - Asia-Europe - and the best global shipping line awards.

We could not have done it without you," he said.

The manager assured the firm's clients that Maersk Line would remain "dependable, customer focused and highly competitive in the years ahead."

Criteria used to adjudicate in the two awards included schedule reliability, efficient customer service, network comprehensiveness, competitive pricing and information technology.

Readers of Cargonews Asia and company book results audited by Ernst & Young were used to vote for the winners.

The 22nd AFSCA was held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore and marks one of the longest standing and most renowned maritime awards in Asia.