Ports Embark on Digital Transformations
PTI Edition 106 •
Today’s ports find themselves at the centre of the digitalisation journey the global supply chain is currently on.
Industry members agree that the uptake of digital processes, automation and other efficiency driving technologies will certainly increase in the coming years because of the impact of COVID-19 on ports and terminals. This type of digitalisation enhances resiliency to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, according to a new report, we run the risk of creating a ‘two tiered’ system if some ports are left behind on the path towards digitalisation.
A divide has already appeared between ports who have digitalised, mainly in the northern hemisphere, and those who have not, typically those in the southern hemisphere, according to the report launched by the World Bank and International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) on 21 January.
The drive for global standards in electronic messaging at ports has been given a major boost with news from the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA) that the standards specialist group PROTECT has now been fully integrated into the association, a year earlier than expected. The move has consolidated, within one organisation, an unrivalled level .