DAKOSY Booking Platform at EUROGATE in Bremerhaven

As of May 2, 2023, the EUROGATE Container Terminal Bremerhaven (CTB) is introducing a mandatory pre-booking and slot booking system for truck processing at the CTB and MSC Gate terminals. The basis is the IT platform Truckgate operated by DAKOSY, which has been mandatory for container processing in Hamburg since 2017. With this, EUROGATE CTB is setting the course for a uniform slot booking process in German seaports.

“User-friendliness and the established process were our main criteria in the selection. With our connection to Truckgate, there is now a seamless registration process for truckers in the seaports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven,” explains Marc Dieterich, Managing Director of EUROGATE CTB. The overall port perspective is emphasized by DAKOSY board member Ulrich Wrage: “We are pleased that EUROGATE has chosen the established Truckgate system and is thus contributing to a uniform process across seaports. Homogeneous digital solutions bring the ports together.”

One third of trucks pre-registered during the pilot phase

Prior to the mandatory slot booking, there was an eight-week open pilot phase. During this time, truckers could voluntarily pre-register their container pickups and deliveries and book time slots for processing. The positive response surprised Jan Wienbeck, the responsible project manager at EUROGATE CTB: “The high recognition of Truckgate was clearly noticeable in the familiarity with the technical handling and the resulting acceptance.” The numbers confirm this. By the end of the pilot phase, about one third of the nearly 1,000 trucks processed daily were pre-planned via Truckgate. According to Wienbeck’s estimates, about 85 percent of the truck drivers active at CTB are already using the slot booking procedure in Hamburg.

Aiming for a processing time of under 30 minutes

With the introduction of Truckgate, EUROGATE aims to further improve the quality of land-side processing. This specifically means shorter processing times for truckers. Wienbeck specifies: “We want to reduce the current processing times, including OCR check and PreGate phase, by at least 40 percent through Truckgate and thus become significantly faster. Our goal, in connection with further measures, is to achieve a processing time of 20 minutes.” The slot booking creates more transparency about the expected truck volume and a better planning basis for resource deployment at the terminal.

This is how participation in the slot booking works

Participation in Truckgate is based on a two-step process. In the first step, the transport pre-registration takes place as a prerequisite for the slot booking. Based on the transport data, it is verified whether the registration data is correct and whether the container is ready for pickup at the terminal. This avoids empty trips or waiting times at the terminal in advance, as errors are detected beforehand.

The actual slot booking builds on the pre-registration. In this, the trucker notes the desired pickup or delivery time. Simultaneously with the executable status of the transport order, the slot booking is confirmed. Up to six containers can be registered per truck trip. Bookings can be made up to three working days in advance, with all slots allowed to be exchanged, changed, and canceled afterwards. It is also possible to add additional containers later.

60-minute time window plus 90 minutes grace period

The time window for each slot is one hour. In addition, there is a grace period of initially 90 minutes before and 90 minutes after the booked time window. Before entering, seven self-service processing terminals will be available, where drivers can check in with the pre-booked Truckgate reference.

The slot booking procedure was developed by DAKOSY on behalf of the EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg and HHLA Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. Participants in Hamburg include the terminals EUROGATE CT Hamburg and Eurokombi, HHLA CT Altenwerder, CT Burchardkai and CT Tollerort, the South-West Terminal, the Container Inspection Facility CPA, the veterinary offices Altenwerder and Reiherdamm, the three container empty depots HCS, CCIS, and CMR, as well as the EUROGATE CTB in Bremerhaven.

Photo: © DAKOSY