Page 10 - Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2020
P. 10

■ DIGITAL DECADE
Digitalization in maritime logistics
Functioning logistics chains form the basis of our global economy, which is dependent on exports and imports and notable for division of labour, plus the resulting prosperity.
 The challenges here for logistics are tremendous. Customers for logistics services expect rapid, low- cost and reliable delivery of goods that are ordered at ever briefer notice. Nor are such services supplied by individual players, but by the most seamless possible intermeshing of numerous forwarders, transport, car- go handling and warehousing suppliers across many national borders and continents. Our society also in- creasingly expects conservation of natural resources and emissions caused by logistics to be minimized, and that along with rising demands on delivery time and quality.
To be able to cater for these requirements, logistics will have to rely more heavily on the intensive use of new technologies – with particular emphasis on digi- talization. Digital technologies may have been in use for years in logistics chains,
port-centred logistics chains to the greatest possible extent, work is in progress on developing data net- works free of discrimination. The aim here is to cre- ate open digital infrastructures that store as little data as possible centrally, with data ownership remaining with the player concerned. Here the functional scope is determined by the players involved, with their in- novative power being used to enable them to incor- porate new services and applications in a secure pro- cess. One example of an innovative network of this kind is currently being developed as part of IHATEC’s MISSION project.
INTERNET-OF-THINGS: TRANSPARENCY FOR OPTIMIZED OPERATION
Internet-of-Things technologies incorporate a vast range of identification, communication and sensor
for example to facilitate ef- ficient communication be- tween partners and to han- dle transactions efficiently. Yet the latest technology options in digitalization now offer far more exten- sive opportunities. Among these, for example, are digital networking between different logistics partners, ‘internet-of-things’ applica- tions in logistics chains and systems, as well as the use of artificial intelligence for analyses and optimization of decisions.
To be able to cater for these requirements, logistics will have to rely more heavily on the intensive use of new technologies – with particular emphasis on digitalization.
technologies enabling real- time localization, status re- cording and communication between objects in logistics systems such as vehicles, equipment and freight units, and via the internet with all sorts of players. Freight, vehicle and equipment moves, as well as the sta- tus of goods, premises and technical systems can be detected, communicated and made available for as- sessments and decisions. Numerous opportunities for optimizing logistics flows can therefore be exploited.
NETWORKING: FROM PROPRIETARY
PLATFORMS TO PUBLIC NETWORKS
For the essential digital networking of players in mar- itime logistics, commercially operated, proprietary – or supplier-linked – platforms are used as a rule. Access to these is mostly complicated, restricted to the individual platform, and requires participants to feed in data to the platforms. In addition, the provid- ers of such platforms regulate the range of functions and who can use them. To incorporate the players in
In addition, these technologies also offer potential for optimizing operational processes. This also ap- plies, and especially so, to boosting environmental compatibility. One example is the dashPORT – Port Energy Management Dashboard – project backed as an element of IHATEC. This involved development of a digital master display for analysis and control of energy flows in ports and terminals. Targeted use of sensors precisely records energy consumption by various users in the port. Then it digitally juxtapos-
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