How port community systems can contribute to port competitiveness: Developing a cost–benefit framework

Abstract

The trend towards collaborative innovation in the maritime supply chain implies a good understanding of the actors and their roles, and an efficient exchange of information. A Port Community System (PCS) increases port efficiency by connecting the ICT systems of each of its members, thereby facilitating their communication. To verify whether this type of collaboration and its benefits actually materialize, an understanding of the costs and benefits of such PCS is required. This paper recognizes the inconsistency in the existing literature with respect to PCS costs and benefits quantification. Therefore, after an indepth literature review, interviews with experts of PCS were carried out, a comprehensive framework to quantify the costs and benefits was developed. Next, a case study was drawn-up to develop a discussion regarding the costs and the extra benefits that port stakeholders incur when using a module of a PCS. The case analysis suggests that there is a positive cost-benefit balance for every stakeholder adhering to a PCS. By covering the development and operational costs of certain modules, PCS operators seek to increase the port competitiveness. This way, PCS users manage to gain higher net benefits and have a competitive advantage over other port stakeholders outside the community.

Impact of IT Capability on the Performance of Port Operation

“…Nowadays, a supply chain, especially a global one, contains heterogeneous parties and stages of different production and transaction systems, mostly with different IT systems, where partial or full integration is impossible and in many cases undesirable (van Baalen et al 2009, Carlan et al 2016. For example, a container port itself is a production system, modeled with a production function of certain production inputs with cargo TEUs as production output.…”

Model of decision for the management of technology and risk in a port community

“…The decisions made by the companies that are the Core of the business are multiple and complex, they can increase or decrease the degree of synergy between the private and public actors of the port system and therefore affect: the competitiveness of the port and the integration / collaboration between the actors of the export and import logistics chains (Carlan et al, 2016;Wei, 2010;Zhong et al, 2011). Strategies are also relevant for defining the strategic/operational objectives of communication and technology processes, where multiple decisions are made to optimize the flow of information (Durán & Córdova, 2015;Keceli, 2011) and improve the control of port activities (Van Oosterhout et al, 2007).…”

“…The Port Community, for its role of coordinator of the system, is responsible for the decision-making process; it has to set varied objectives and choose the best possible alternatives to increase profitability. In order to do this, it is necessary to reduce the costs related to Information and Communication Technologies by means of implementing/safeguarding: the efficient use of stakeholders' infrastructure (Keceli, 2011), security of connections between users (Van Oosterhout et al, 2007), legality in transactions (Carlan et al, 2016), rapid access to information through electronic platforms (Aydogdu & Aksoy, 2015), compliance with standards and regulations (Carlan et al, 2016), among others. At the same time, it has to manage the data of the Information and Technology Processes of the port terminals.…”

Transshipment hub selection from a shipper's and freight forwarder's perspective

“…Thanks to economic globalization, products on the market are most likely coming from the other part of the world for improving profit margins and necessitating keen global logistics strategy ( Van Hassel, Meersman, de Voorde, & Vanelslander, 2013 ). Global cargo logistics entails multiple logistics nodes and the cooperative planning of multiple logistics stakeholders ( Carlan, Sys, & Vanelslander, 2016 ). The connectivity of these nodes, e.g., distribution centers, sea container ports, airports, and transshipment hubs, becomes crucial for effective shipment planning.…”