ports and terminals Archives

A port with no terminals?

Posted on October 2, 2015 | by cdorsey

While a port with no terminals is hard to envisage, there are opportunities for ports to be innovative by harnessing the power of information technology.

Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the world’s most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.

To be competitive, business models are changing across many industries and their supply chains. While a port with no terminals is hard to envisage, there are opportunities for ports to be innovative by harnessing the power of information technology.

An example is the practice of ports creating “virtual” or sub-terminals.

As a port grows and becomes more complex, the ability to manage terminal operations simply by having oversight of the whole operation becomes increasingly difficult.

Using information technology you can create a virtual terminal e.g. in an area of your yard or in a part of a holding warehouse. Implementing these sub-terminals into your port can help you and your systems better categorize, compartmentalize and manage day-to-day operations.

For each sub-terminal, varying pricing models can be applied as well as specific management of each area, while still having complete control and flexibility across the entire terminal. Automated messaging such as EDI can be used to ensure a shipper knows where their cargo is and what services and charges are being applied.

This results in cost savings for your shipping line customers based on what services they are using and the activities required. Rather than having across-the-board pricing for cargo, implementing separate pricing can work as an incentive for businesses.

For example, something stored in the yard might cost more than in the warehouse. This would incentivize importers and exporters against storing long term in the yard as a means of saving themselves money.

The success of the likes of Uber shows how you can use technology to look differently at how to enhance your competitiveness in an industry. Sub-terminals is one small way ports can do it.

Learn more about the Sub-Terminal features of Master Terminal.

Ports can be technological leaders

Posted on August 8, 2014 | by cdorsey

Captain Kaustubh Dalvi, Jade Logistics’ President of Global Sales, looks at changes and challenges facing ports, and explains how technology, people, and processes can prepare the path to automation.

The major challenges ports face aren’t all in the physical environment. Yes, changes like deepening water channels, strengthening quay walls, and adding more sophisticated machinery to the yard are coming to a lot of ports. But what about conventional processes, technology and systems? They’ll be under pressure to perform, and stay secure, as the industry evolves.

Terminals have to be competitive, productive, and cost efficient. This balancing act is easier with the right technology. Systems that worked in the past won’t necessarily keep you competitive in the future. Quite simply, ports can’t afford to be left behind.

I believe that ports need to open up to emerging technologies and pay attention to innovative trends. Process automation is particularly important. It’s an area in which ports can team up with the right vendors and take a leading role, to the point where other industries look to ports as an example and follow suit.

Preparing for automation starts with people and processes

Automation will be the norm one day, but for most ports there’s still a fair distance to travel. Over this period it’s important to know how much automation you can afford, where your port sits on the automation spectrum, and which technological changes are best to make now.

With full automation being beyond most ports, the question is how well you can get machines and humans working together. This can bring similar efficiencies as automation, only more quickly and with a lower price tag. It also helps your port make the more gradual move towards automation.

Two things to look at today, then, are people and processes. Strong processes on the ground pay off in the short term and help prepare the way for automation. And strong processes require skilled, qualified people to drive the technology.

Some things shouldn’t wait

Of all the technological and procedural opportunities you could take, which ones are most important? Look for areas with the biggest room for improvement and where changes will have an immediate effect.

Traditionally, one weakness of ports is in exchanging information between stakeholders. Both within the port and throughout the extended supply chain, sharing data and information efficiently and securely is key to becoming more efficient. This is one area where the right procedures and system can make a big immediate difference. For a lot of ports it’s a good places to start.

What’s the right move for you?

This is a quick look at broad trends global trends, but different regions are under different pressure and every port operation is unique. There is no single recipe for efficiency or success.

At Jade Logistics we’ve helped ports all around the world become more efficient and competitive. We’re port people who understand the potential of port technology, and how to implement and run systems to bring genuine, fast benefits.

Video: Kaustubh Dalvi interviewed by Port Technology International

Jade Logistics’ Master Terminal arrives in Central America with new customer win

Posted on June 17, 2014 | by siteadmin

Productivity gains and rapid implementation attract Grupo CICE
Jade Logistics today announced that in a first for the company in Mexico and Central America, Grupo CICE has selected Jade’s terminal operating system (TOS), Master Terminal, to more easily manage its mixed cargo ports. Two ports, at Veracruz and Tampico, will implement Master Terminal this year.

Grupo CICE’s full complement of port operations includes storage for all cargo types, as well as packaging and distribution. Growing and ambitious port operators like CICE are recognising the benefits of a single, solid TOS, making Master Terminal one of the world’s fastest-growing mixed cargo terminal operating systems.

As CICE looks to attract more international shipping companies, Master Terminal will help successfully run and grow their operation, according to a CICE spokesperson. “We have to compete with top international groups, and operate in our own terminal as well as in public areas. To provide top quality services for containers and general cargo we need the right tools to plan, control, and operate our business. Jade’s Master Terminal Software gives us the flexibility and reliability we require from a TOS.”

CICE will retire a number of in-house systems and replace them with Master Terminal’s single, integrated view of the port. With Jade’s rapid implementation process, including a six-week record set earlier this year, the ports will quickly see benefits and gain value from Master Terminal.

Another appeal was Jade’s global track record. Master Terminal is well established in the Middle East and New Zealand, and has a growing presence in the USA. The first African sites, Ghana’s Tema and Takoradi ports, were announced last October.

Captain Kaustubh Dalvi, President of Global Sales, for Master Terminal, celebrated the system’s arrival in Central America. “This is a significant milestone for Master Terminal; it is our first implementation in Mexico, further extending our footprint in the Americas. Master Terminal is a compelling option for ambitious ports anywhere in the world, and our new relationship with CICE is further proof of that.”

The ground-breaking Mexican implementation will begin later this year.