WHITEPAPERS

International container traffic has recently reached record volumes as traffic ramped up through much of the pandemic and container movements continue to grow. In North American ports, there are huge delays in working the ships arriving from Asia and the inbound/ outbound container imbalance is creating container shortages for export shipments.

As marine terminal technology advances and becomes more sophisticated, the demands on terminal IT departments have grown exponentially. IT infrastructure has always been mission-critical to marine terminals, but as terminals increasingly automate and optimize their IT systems, the IT departments find now more than ever that they are at the center of the marine terminal’s success.

There is no doubt that software as a service (SaaS) has disrupted the traditional on-premise license software model. From finance and HR to sales enablement and marketing, companies are increasingly adopting subscription-based SaaS solutions in virtually all functions of their businesses. Yet when it comes to the container shipping industry – and terminal operations in particular – adoption of SaaS-based solutions has been relatively slow despite the availability of viable and proven offerings.

There are those automated terminals that have been leading the way forward for years now, and in the past five years alone new terminals have joined the fold, opening automated facilities in Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Morocco, Italy, Oman and Canada. As container operators prepare for the future, it’s critical to understand the most effective tactics available when planning new terminal modernization projects.

What operational decisions are made automatically at container terminals today -- and how that will change in the future? Should machine learning be used to support the automation of these decisions? Frederik Stork, PhD, Senior Director of Navis Optimization and Analytics Services discusses ways in which we can apply AI, automated decision making and machine learning to container terminal operations.

The ocean container shipping industry is facing many issues, such as surplus capacity and weakening demand. This whitepaper discusses what we can do together to increase efficiency and restore profitability to the industry. In order for us to articulate and realize changes, we need to zoom out and visualize a new era where collaboration between stakeholders is the new norm.

Dealing with unfamiliar situations is challenging, but technologies like automation and virtual reality can help ease the transition. By letting people experience new situations and gain confidence before they start their task or job via these new learning methodologies, we can create a mindset of responsible behavior, demonstrate cause and effect, and ensure standard operating procedures are followed.