The pandemic can prompt an entire restructure of the current framework employed in exercising global supply chain operations. The impacts of stalled shipments, blank sailings, staff layoffs, and overall plummet in consumer sentiments have shackled everyone involved in the supply chain. It has raised significant concerns for countries that predominantly rely on international trade, which may now need to consider diversifying their supply sources.

Earlier on during the outbreak, China enforced a nationwide lockdown that limited any form of movement. Inevitably being the behemoth for manufacturing, their exports could not depart on vessels since logistics halted to a standstill. Consequently, buyers can no longer receive their manufacturing goods or raw materials to continue the supply chain. The economic crisis further propelled a downturn in consumer behavior, which inherently lead container volumes to drop to historic lows. With all this in retrospect, it outlines the magnitude of the impacts that initiate a domino effect, reverberating into all operations and players involved in global trade. Due to the changing and unprecedented circumstances making existing processes inapplicable, businesses worldwide are now reassessing their dependence on China as their leading trade partner.

Some governments have encouraged localizing trade and moving manufacturing activity onshore as an alternative to mitigate the faltering flow of goods in case of a rise from another unprecedented event. The number of vessels downsizing to make shorter trips with fewer containers, as well as an increase in intermodal, freight, and truck activity, would be the likelihood if nations were to enact this pathway. Otherwise, materials and manufacturing will be spread across suppliers equally, diversifying the risks if all op the face of a player unable to supply the resources. Will we witness a manufacturing pivot as the pandemic develops a new era for the economy?

Artificial Intelligence (AI), at its full potential, can help solve the world’s most significant challenges. Its promises to synthesize, analyze, detect patterns, develop insights, and determine predictions across various dimensions, beyond human capacity is what truly makes us marvel at its constructs. The idea that AI can apply across all industries ranging from health to supply chain further endorses its rising endearment. However, before the world can progress from machine learning into deep learning, it will only prove useful if the foundation already embeds the core blocks required in its current infrastructures and system architectures.

Why is AI relevant to the maritime and container industry?

Nations worldwide have now entered a low-growth economic reality, and the impacts of the worldwide pandemic that were not immediately obvious are now gradually coming to light. While some shipping liners and ports have projected a positive Q1, the epidemic has declared a pandemic in March. Consequently, reports generated for January to March are not accurate indicators, and we are likely to foresee a stark change in results for Q2.

Global trade relationships have had to readjust and implement new reforms to respond to the dwindling supply as crucial players of the supply chain have had to disconnect since the financial burden is too much to bear. Blank sailings, low cargo volumes, and a stark drop in consumer demand are a few of the many impacts ensued from the pandemic. Port authorities overwhelmed at the limited resources on-hand and forced to navigate through such unprecedented events have called for an imminent introduction of technologies like AI.

How can AI help achieve goals and visions?

AI may well be our savior, guiding us to answers we have been struggling to construe. Gathering data is an easy task; it is making sense of the masses of data that proves to be a challenge. Now that the world is adopting a more liberal approach towards technology, AI is gradually gaining traction and will soon deploy more intelligent integrated tools that combat problematic areas within operations. The availability in computational power doubling every three and a half months allows software providers to expand on AI applications and close the gap to achieving deep learning.

Port and terminal operators can heighten operational visibility by introducing predictive analytics. It is a subset of AI that resonates with machine learning and contributes significant value to TOS operators by determining the possible scenarios when dealing with bottlenecks and supposes the best alternative while factoring in specified parameters. Processing the data, then learning, and devising predictions at a magnitude and detail level impossible for an individual human to comprehend, inherently achieves optimization in operations, processes, and resources – something all ports and terminals desperately need in this time of uncertainty.

AI capacity broadens from its ability to draw on a substantial database of scenarios instantly, develop responses to questions, and devise a decision or device that can challenge a way that a human cannot. Its ability to naturally learn from previous answers, and continually improve its learning approach to meet requirements, further reinforces the power of AI. If this is the beginning of AI, imagine the possibilities as it progresses…

TIC 4.0 was founded in 2019 and brings together leading terminal operators, equipment manufacturers and solutions providers to promote, define and adopt standards. Now, the initiative has been formally registered during a ceremony in Brussels, Belgium.

In a statement, TIC 4.0 said Boris Wenzel, Managing Director, Terminal Link, would be its president and Norbert Klettner, Managing Director, RBS-EMEA, its vice-president.

Frank Kho, who has numerous experience with terminal operators and equipment manufacturers, will become CEO. The current 20 members of TIC are a good mix of terminal operators and suppliers in the industry, who are Hyster-Yale, Kalmar, KoneCranes, Kuenz, Liebherr, NAVIS, Phoenix Lighting, RBS, SICK, TBA, TMEIC, ZPMC, APMT, Bollore, Eurogate, Port of Koper, PSA, Terminal Link, MMC Ports and Yilport, several other organizations have expressed their interest to join this unique initiative.

The goal of TIC 4.0 is to promote, define and adopt standards that will enable the cargo-handling industry to embrace the 4th Industrial Revolution. Therefore TIC 4.0 will also strive to attract more members from the terminals operators as well as industry suppliers.

Its initial objectives are as follows:

• Define and agree on a common semantics and definitions among the companies involved in the cargo handling industry, both terminal operators and port solution providers.

• Develop communication protocols and frameworks that will be adopted by the port industry players for seamless data communication regardless of the manufacturer or type of equipment/machine.

• Facilitate the inter-operability of different information sub-systems of a cargo handling facility.

• Promote the adoption of selected existing standards and those developed by TIC 4.0 by the sector.

“I really feel that both energy and commitment prevail among TIC 4.0 members to achieve the goals we have set. I believe that to achieve these goals, the cooperation between terminal operators and solution providers is a great critical success factor,” said Frank Kho.

“TIC 4.0 members all believe that the work on standardization is of utmost importance for our industry in the context of increased digitalization of the supply chain. It will also enable the adoption of innovative processes and solutions” added Boris Wenzel.

Click here to visit RBS EMEA.

Current Landscape

The global supply chain can be alluded to as a network, branching out and connecting several other nodes. Namely, international trade and technological advancements are the underlying sources which influence the overall landscape – extending from the global supply chain to globalization and the entire economy. These two driving forces have formed a pact to pervade other industries, prompting its recognition when conducting business. A grave inference draws these factors as the direct outgrowth of marine terminals. Therefore, the whole economy relies on terminal operations and will plummet if it is exposed to vulnerabilities which may be attributed by an inefficient terminal operating system.

The Problem

Terminals that centralize on a business strategy resisting change end up taking resource intensive routes. A rippling effect will ensue, causing detriment to terminal revenue, magnify inefficient terminal operations, and affect the global supply chain, which is inherent in steering the overall economy. As a result, this should not be the primary goal of any business – this narrow-minded view relays onto a single focus adopting only the necessary actions mitigating change, shackling potential and massive growth. Instead, businesses should retain a reformed perspective on adaptability that responds proactively to changing environments and build various avenues to elevate the economy. An economy that “stays in the expansion phase of the business cycle” is a prolonging and collective goal of many worldwide, whereby technology advancements pose as a substantial factor influencing the decision-making process in every industry. More than ever, the one at large are marine terminals, requiring the cooperation with beneficial technological innovations to engender a thriving economy.

If every business process is stripped down to its resources, the point of supply is terminals. Therefore, they hold a crucial responsibility in adopting a flexible terminal operating system that has the dynamic capacity and innovative functionality to respond to a fluctuation in container throughput. A terminal operating system that is unrepresentative of innovation and fails to incorporate the suite of capabilities that can account for all terminal operations or drive efficiency is a recipe for disaster. Although, advancements in technology may become disruptive, rejecting its presence may deprive avenues that present more efficient methods to running terminal operations, which not only degrades its market position but also drives a downturn in the economy.

The Response

Many avenues strengthen the global supply chain, but the place to start is selecting the correct terminal operating system that cares about your growth, prospects, and objectives. A common denominator that reinforces a viable TOS should include the following innovative technologies:

• Cloud

If the TOS is built on a true cloud architecture, all your data is maintained in a centralized system, granting access from anywhere at any time. A dual advantage is warranted to smaller terminals since they can adopt a pay-as-you-go payment model while larger terminals can achieve economies of scale, which generates extremely low costs for both structures. Enhanced accessibility corresponds to greater efficiency since terminal operators gain better control over operations since resources can be invested to accomplish other business strategies as opposed to maintaining IT facilities which are not needed when using a TOS in the cloud. For more details on cloud technology, click here…

• Automation

A terminal which experiences many bottlenecks or errors may request the integration of automation into their TOS. Automation, if executed correctly, would render a decrease in error rate and heighten operational efficiency by sustaining the interoperability between a TOS and automated container handling equipment. Due to this nature, an increase in ROI will be achieved. For more insight into the world of automation, click here…

• Optimization

Optimization drives functionality that highlights resource, process, and CHE strategy as the core components for efficient operations. An accurate optimization module will make the best possible use of available resources, streamline the execution process, and determine the most optimal number of CHE moves to deliver efficient operations. To gain a deeper understanding of optimization, click here…

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A TOS manifesting an infrastructure supportive of a true AI architecture is very rare in the Container Handling Industry. Only offered at RBS, TOPS Expert optimization module integrates AI into berth planning and yard planning to reduce the workload which is practically impossible to calculate manually without entering a trade-off between accuracy, time, and resources. The TOPS Expert AI optimization module exhibits human intelligence in planning to improve reliability in decision-making processes, which intrinsically induces a higher degree of operational efficiency and mitigates error rates. For a more in-depth knowledge of AI, click here…

Ultimately, terminals must comply to a path that leads to a better economy by adopting a TOS that can leverage and proactively adapt to change. Otherwise, a TOS that is unresponsive to new innovative technologies will neglect a terminal from reaching its maximum potential in performance and productivity, putting the economy in a downward spiral.

Terminal optimization is segregated into divisions that are allocated different roles and responsibilities. Optimization in the Container Handling Industry is conceived due to terminals experiencing various bottlenecks when vessels berth at the port, inefficient yard planning affecting container movement, the disarray of CHE instructions causing congestion, and poor management of resources which fail to maximize time. If an area of a terminal evokes inefficiency, it will inevitably impact another which can engender various risks that will accumulate until a complete catastrophic outbreak dismantles the entire terminal. Consequently, terminals are in pursuit of a terminal operating system that incorporates a suite of capabilities that counteract these implications.

Vessel berthing is the most prominent area where optimization has been instituted to enhance planning processes which is accountable for maximizing terminal capacity and limiting congestion. A unique function only offered in RBS, is TOPS Expert is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Berth Optimization, which incorporates cutting-edge technology that mimics human behavior by gathering then understanding data to develop algorithms utilized to optimize berth planning. Not only is discharge operations executed at the highest degree of productivity such that it meets the critical vessel schedule when AI is integrated into the vessel berth planning process, but it substantially reduces the amount of human intervention. Personnel no longer must spend copious amounts of time manually analyzing calculations to determine the best date and time to schedule a berth since this conventional method of planning is simply not efficient, nor is it reliable. With AI, decision-making is achieved much faster with extreme accuracy as ETAs and ETDs are strategically and automatically depicted. Real-time visibility is inherently amplified with TOPS Expert AI Berth Optimization module as terminal operators can foresee the actual workflow regarding the vessel operation, eradicating any ambiguity. A positive correlation also emanates from this module for vessel operators as they can save fuel and energy costs due to optimized travel distances. Terminals, therefore, must re-evaluate their TOS and berth optimization functionalities if they confront bottlenecks that are impacting their profitability – let AI do the thinking so you can work smarter not harder.

Deprived throughput may be attributable by a TOS lacking in infrastructure or competency to perform and deliver optimal decisions. As a result, yard space may not be used to its maximum potential, creating chaos when a container enters and departs from a terminal. These complications are offset by deploying a TOS that can efficiently plan the allocation for containers not just when they are active or discharged from the terminal but even prior to their arrival. Strategically managing the containers limit the number of container moves, facilitating CHE optimization as the task is executed faster, and the CHE can move onto other processes. Countermeasures such as seeking for an ameliorate TOS must commence when poor yard management pose as a constraint inhibiting optimization.

The performance of CHE, processes, and resources are the key drivers determining the criticality of vessel berthing optimization and yard optimization. The ability to calculate the minimum number of CHE moves required to move a container from one location to another should be reinforced in the TOS. Like TOPS Expert, every process is carefully planned to consider every set parameter, provide alternative scenarios, and heed only the necessary resources to calculate the shortest but the best path in executing the action. Therefore, as the components in berth optimization and yard optimization are derived and refined, there is a clear inference that optimizing CHE, processes, and resources are just as pivotal since they are the principal factors in defining terminal performance. Always conduct thorough research and evaluate each TOS against its infrastructure, capabilities, and range of functionalities before deciding on which to deploy.

Terminal optimization may be easily definable as a terminal operating system that devises intelligent capabilities which facilitate more efficient operations and processes. However, this explanation provides a very basic understanding of optimization and confines it from its complex nature. All planning, instructions, and decisions made within a terminal can be optimized, and therefore, is inclusive of any activity on the operational spectrum that ranges from vessel berthing to managing containers within the yard. Optimization is not limited to the sole objective of achieving productivity, and instead, is also responsible for forecasting the emergence of any potential problem areas, depleting costs, and balancing various resources to yield transparency in all decisions.

Due to the underlying definition of terminal optimization, it is easy to slap this label onto any TOS and certify their functionalities as being able to deliver the most optimal decisions. Each TOS has divergent views of optimization, and hence renders different functionalities which generate different results. If a TOS is not maximizing the use of the available resources and achieving the desired outcome, the terminal is highly likely exposed to the risk of suffering in performance. Optimization must be supported by the correct technology and established on a robust infrastructure to ensure they are not encountering any conflict in operational priorities – being unable to achieve the optimal and most functional outcome without sacrificing a set parameter. Each decision made by the TOS should be calculated with diligence and account for all contingencies without omitting any set parameter to present terminal operators with the most viable optimal solution.

A TOS with refined terminal optimization should exhibit the following capabilities and benefits:

• Forecasting problems – warrant an early detection of upcoming issues that can constrain daily terminal operations
• Risk management – instigate proactive measures in responding to any potential risks or challenges
• Reduce costs – TOS users can leverage forecasting problems earlier to avoid investing financial resources in amending issues
• Improve process efficiency – avoids vessel waiting times and resource bottlenecks
• Improve operational efficiency – heed greater control and visibility as a result of optimized resources and forecasting abilities
• Faster Decision-Making – the timeframe for planning and exercising decisions should be significantly reduced and not at the expense of any set requirements to reflect a capable TOS
• Accurate information – TOS should have AI integrated into the system and automated data to provide accurate information which inhibits errors from ensuing, granting heightened visibility over operations
• Performance monitoring and accountability – increased traceability over all activity conducted within a terminal which is owed to optimization sharing information across departments which derives optimum results
• Transparency – every projected scenario must reinforce all the parameters set by the user to contribute a clear and refined decision

Therefore, optimization transcends the rudimentary notion of being limited to just efficiency and requires accurate and in-depth knowledge of the associated processes before it can be clarified as a TOS that can truly exhibit optimization. The term can be loosely defined which administers greater responsibility for terminal operators to take prudence when searching for a TOS. As a result, a TOS that can truly optimize all activity within a terminal should be ergonomically stable and absorb all factors without excluding any benefits.

There is an inherent interrelation between technology and trade – whereby inducing advancements in technology instigates further growth of globalization. With containerization playing an integral role in this process, it is critical to understand that the global supply chain has become incredibly dependent on terminals to fuel the economy. Countries worldwide who are working towards a more sustainable economy, hint that terminals, regardless of their size or type of cargo they manage, must expedite their presence in the Container Handling Industry to participate as well as attribute to the growth in the economy. Therefore, all terminals must ensure their operations are always executed at the optimum and adopt a Terminal Operating System (TOS) that is best tailored to their current and future needs at a cost-effective price.

The purpose of a TOS is to accommodate to all operations and processes which provide palpable insight to assist in planning and heed greater visibility over the performance of terminal operations. Selecting a static TOS that only satisfies current projected requirements is an illustration of tactical planning that centralizes only on short-term goals. Although tactical planning can generate immediate results, it may also pose as a barrier to prospective success. Terminals, as a result, must be diligent when selecting a TOS that not only fulfills specialized needs but reinforces both tactical planning and strategic planning to conjure functionalities that are also future proofed. As a terminal grows, their operations and objectives inevitably change, requiring a flexible TOS that can easily accommodate to these scalabilities without incurring irrational expenses or fuss.

Rejecting a TOS with comprehensive functionalities conform to the narrow mindset that limits future opportunities and paves a broader stream for operations becoming obsolete or ineffective. Instead, terminal operators should take prudence and care when selecting a TOS such that it adheres to these following elements:

• Scalable – easily add memory and various modules such as Automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Optimization, etc. when terminals encounter a change in objectives or respectively experience higher throughput and growth
• Flexible – an open TOS system that can interface with any third-party systems such as Gate Operating Systems (GOS), DGPS, automated CHEs, etc. to support automation, business intelligence, and IoT strategies
• Future proofed – avoid TOS’s which integrate just enough functionalities to satisfy current needs as it may be lacking in capabilities due to poor and redundant infrastructure. Seek for a TOS that has all-inclusive functions that accounts for every possible container operation on the spectrum to increase efficiency and limit unproductivity
• Cost-effective – the pool of TOS’s that can concurrently perform exceptionally, offer various and comprehensive functionalities, and provide services at a low price is extremely limited and difficult to discover in the market. Terminal operators should, therefore, consider adopting a true cloud-based TOS to leverage all these benefits without compromising their financial resources

The overarching inference warrants that a terminal operating system in the cloud is the most viable choice as it encompasses all factors ranging from scalability in functionalities to the most imperative; future proofing. When a TOS has purely manifested a cloud architecture, it is embedded with the capabilities to integrate any additional modules and ingest data in any manner which alleviates the need to adopt other external systems and data sources to operate. Any sentiments challenging this conception is a direct indication that the proclaimed cloud TOS is built on a forged infrastructure which is resource intensive and consequently cannot afford adhering to a pay-as-you-go model to offering cost-effective prices.

Although it may not be critical to the operations now, does not excuse it from being crucial for the future. Limit the pool of providers and instill a reliable web-based TOS that truly cares about your future. Never settle for less and find a TOS provider that is committed to your success.