Digital transformation set to produce Port of Gothenburg 2.0
With the aid of AI and digital linking, the Port of Gothenburg will become quicker, more cost-effective, and climate smart. A customised digital platform is due to be rolled out during the second half of 2021. It will enhance freight flow transparency and have a direct impact on productivity, lead times, and delivery capacity throughout the entire transport chain, Port of Gothenburg said in its release.
“It will be something of a Port of Gothenburg 2.0 that will benefit everyone linked to the port. Having said that, what is truly revolutionary is not the just the technical transformation but what will emerge in its wake,” said Malin Collin, deputy CEO at the Gothenburg Port Authority.
The greatest challenge will be to bring together the hundreds of organisations that cooperate and compete for transport at the Port of Gothenburg. Shipping companies, terminal operators, rail operators, forwarding companies, freight owners, and inland terminals each represent an individual thread, and together they will intertwine to form a complex freight transport network.
At present, all those involved use separate IT systems that measure and handle individual elements in the transport chain based on fragmented information. Interaction between them often means dipping into the system manually.
The Gothenburg Port Authority is the network coordinator, which entails unravelling, digitalising, and reconnecting the threads. The plan is for all the fragments of information to be collated and processed using the very smartest technology in an effort to visualise and optimise the numerous processes at the Port of Gothenburg.
With these services, more rapid, high-quality information will facilitate flexible planning and collaboration between the different operators at the port. Data that is made available to us will allow shipping companies and ports to be integrated, with significant environmental gains as a result – through just-in-time arrival for example. Freight owners, rail operators, and terminal operators will be able to track their goods in real time. The response among those are affected has been overwhelmingly positive, and they have already identified the considerable potential that will be generated.
This week the procurement process was finalised with the provider Wabtech, which will be responsible for the technical solution. In the next phase, the Gothenburg Port Authority and Wabtech will lay out a joint project plan, bringing discussions with the various companies at the port to the next level and moving forward during the second half of 2021. What will materialise from this is a platform that can be built on and with at least one application based on three separate data sources.