The largest port in Scandinavia is seeking to enhance customer benefit through digitalised freight tracking. The Port Optimizer™ Track & Trace app is being launched to make it easier for freight owners and rail and terminal operators to track their freight in real time from quayside to inland destination.
The company behind this innovative solution is Wabtec, which has also created a similar tool for the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in North America. This provided a solid foundation for the Port of Gothenburg’s version of the tracking tool.
The greatest challenge was to connect the terminal operators, rail operators, forwarders, freight owners, and inland terminals, all of which cooperate and compete for transport at the Port of Gothenburg. In this context APM Terminals and GDL Sjöcontainer AB played a particularly important role in making Port Optimizer Track & Trace a reality.
Port Optimizer Track & Trace easily filters information about the freight moving through the port. It see which vessel carried the freight, when it was loaded, and when it left the terminal for the onward journey by rail. The system is linked to scanning sensors along the rail tracks, using data collected from the Swedish Transport Administration and various rail companies and organisations. Regular updates on the location of the freight ensure secure, traceable transport movements with a clearly stated time of arrival. This has been sought for a long time as part of the planning and decision-making process.
The system also issues notifications, not only when everything is going according to plan but more important when a problem occurs in route that needs to be rectified quickly. GDL Sjöcontainer AB is one of the logistics players which has been involved for several months testing and validating the app. They have been using the Port Optimizer Track & Trace system for several weeks.
In the long term, everyone will have the opportunity to reap the benefits of Port Optimizer Track & Trace, although initially the service will be limited to freight flows that have been activated. But this will not prevent others from joining – an expression of interest is always welcome.
The Port of Gothenburg is set to become a digitalised, globally integrated port and a centre of innovation and technical solutions. The Port of Gothenburg is at the forefront in the use of new technical innovations. The primary investment is in the development of a new digital system where all the above elements are interlinked – a digital service ecosystem centred on one single source. The Port of Gothenburg will be able to offer a secure, neutral platform, ensuring the data that is collected only reaches those who have authorised access.