All systems go
Working under the conditions created by the outbreak of Covid-19 isn’t easy for any company. In general, firms committed to the digital exchange of data are considered winners. This can also be assessed in a differentiated way, as CEO Rémi Julien and Catherine Mégélas, the head of communication and marketing of the logistics platform specialist Marseille Gyptis International (MGI), elaborated.
Forgive me if I start out with the same old question – how has the pandemic affected your business, overall?
Rémi Julien: As a medium-sized enterprise we’ve also felt the effects of the temporary decline in traffic, of course, with a 10% drop in business volumes. We’ve benefited, in turn, from a general trend towards increased digitalisation.
Catherine Mégélas: Even in these rather difficult times, we didn’t lose a single customer, and even registered particularly strong demand.
What exactly was demand for?
RJ: Many customers want to invest in and expand their digital infrastructure, partially because our technology passed the stress test of 2020. The port of Marseille, for example, operated with a mere 10% of its workforce on site. The systems were able to cope rather well overall with this major upheaval.
CM: In the last few months we’ve received more than 40 inquiries for EDI connections, which is about twice as many as in 2019.
What features are in demand?
RJ: Our fully-integrated Ci5 platform is at the heart of demand. All of a port’s logistics data is digitally mapped therein. This also includes an interface for communication with our clients’ private systems – forwarders, handlers, agents, terminals, port authorities, customs, shippers, as well as many more.
Where do you run your projects these days?
CM: In October – as we entered the second phase of the lockdown – we finished the complete migration to Ci5 in the general port of Dunkirk. The CMA CGM Zheng He was the first ship to arrive in Dunkirk that operated through Ci5.
RJ: On 3 November we introduced our system in the port of Bordeaux. Then it will be the turn of the Mediterranean port of Sète, whose traffic to and from Turkey and Tunisia is veritably booming. We’re working on a project to completely update the cargo community system. In 2021 then we’ll execute further jobs overseas, as well as new services in Marseille.
For the DFDS shipping line we integrated Ci5 / MCustoms into their system. This solution also takes into account, amongst other things, the new guidelines of the Inter- national Chamber of Shipping (ICS) concerning the transportation of various time-critical goods.
Cyber-security is a topic that has really grabbed many headlines of late.
RJ: Indeed. Apart from spectacular cases, such as those of Maersk and CMA CGM, many operators have also been affected by equally serious cases that may have made a few less headlines.
We act at several levels in order to counter the threat of cyber-attacks. Since 2017 we’ve been certified for information security management according to ISO 27001. Secondly, we make sure we design secure technical cloud architectures.
Thirdly, we also permanently monitor our systems, and simultaneously also continuously sensitise our employees and partners. We put a great effort into continuous checks to prevent a break-in into the Ci5 system – because hackers are becoming ever more professional.
When you introduce Ci5, do you do so in a purely technical way?
CM: Not in the least; without the right people with the right training we’d get nowhere. In Dunkirk, for example, we trained 190 people in September and October, and trained another 90 employees in Bordeaux. Technology and people have to be combined, so we sent four instructors to the sites.
