Digital information technology continues to be developed to optimize the distribution of goods at ports. Digital information technology continues to be developed to optimize the distribution of goods at ports
Digital information technology continues to be developed to optimize the distribution of goods at ports. The latest digital information technology is the main key to effectiveness and efficiency amid high trade between countries.
Even though the business world is being affected by the pandemic, ports are still operating to ensure the country’s economy.
The pandemic has changed the way things work, including at the ports. Viruses that spread through human physical interaction, make machines and information technology a mainstay so that there is not much human interaction.
The following are four digital information technology trends in ports, summarized from various sources:
5G network
The 5G ecosystem will continue to grow and expand, so it will increase the level of application of automation and artificial intelligence which is very much needed on the operational side.
Ports and terminals will greatly need to benefit from technological breakthroughs. The port of Hamburg in Germany, which is one of the ten largest container terminals in Europe, has already piloted the 5G technology to transform into their language, “a hub of the next generation of mobile communications industry”.
So based on trials, 5G technology will optimize future port development plans. Then also improve performance in the field to monitor daily operational activities to make the terminal port become smarter (effective operational performance).
Then the increased connectivity and speed offered by 5G makes it able to transfer data securely in a matter of milliseconds! So it has the potential to carry out disruption in the form of technological transformation in the container shipping industry, inter-port networks, and logistics service companies to become the foundation of a smarter supply chain network. 5G will also be the glue of Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
Sensor Technology
This technology will increasingly develop on the basis of the 5G network. This flexible and large-network technology will be developed in tandem with IoT with a cellular network. Cellular IoT means the connection between physical equipment.
At ports and terminals it can be implemented so that equipment at the port is able to transmit data through sensors more independently (not depending on), be automated, and operated efficiently.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has implemented this innovation in the form of a container tracking management system that uses optical sensors to detect changing conditions, including detecting when containers are opened by unauthorized parties.
In the final stage, ports and terminals will focus on increasing the data capacity that can be processed by smart sensors. Especially to develop new services and platforms to make the most of the information.
Internet of Vehicles
When smart solutions depend on IoT and are already being widely implemented in ports and terminals in the world, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is still in the early stages of development. Even so, this concept will take off in 2019 and will be important in supporting traffic management at ports to be more effective, so as to increase security and reduce the risk of collision.
The Port of Valencia in Spain in collaboration with the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has teamed up to integrate IoV technology as a trucking solution.
So MSC trucks in Spain have been equipped with IoV devices to track vehicles in real time so as to help ports predict and prepare for arrivals and potential congestion at port gates.
Port Centric Logistics
Although technology is considered capable of being the key to increasing efficiency and reliability, in the port and terminal sector, there is always an interest in becoming a trade center in order to simplify the logistics network infrastructure. The ‘revival’ of the port centric logistics concept is proof that the importance of modern end-to-end (from upstream to downstream) supply chain business processes is to apply this concept.
The global giant Amazon has succeeded in changing its customers’ expectations that when it comes to speed of delivery, ports play an important role in investing more broadly in supply chains and providing conditions conducive to supervising goods.
Before these goods enter the wider supply chain network. This method is believed to open the gates of even greater business.
Finally, the maritime business that implements port centric logistics in daily operations will develop significantly by utilizing technological sophistication, as well as towards the successful way that has been carried out by other modern ports.