Linking networks digitally
From Rotterdam to Basel. The platform operator Portbase and the RheinPorts association have launched a joint project that supplies digital links between the maritime and inland port communities. It aims to optimise data flows between the Netherlands and ports on the river Rhine.
The ports of Rotterdam and Duisburg and the Swiss Rhine ports are the basis of the project as the shareholders of Portbase and RheinPorts, and are simultaneously ambassadors for the interlinking of digital infrastructure networks.
Combining Portbase’s Port Community System (PCS) and the RheinPorts Riverports Planning and Information System (RPIS) will make it possible to improve supply chain efficiency and transparency from seaports to hinterlands.
Helping to reduce complexity
Seamless data exchange can streamline import and export processes, improve planning and simplify the ability to share information with all of the stakeholders involved. This will help to reduce the complexity of exchanging data along logistics chains and represent added value for shipowners, terminals, ports as well as all of the partners involved.
The test phase has now started, marking the first concrete implementation of declarations of intent expressed by the three port operators two years ago.
In addition to the ongoing close cooperation between the ports and the platform operators, logistics players all along the supply chains also play a crucial role, by networking with the platforms, handling the exchange of data and creating added value with their services.
The logistics company Danser, headquartered in the Netherlands, is one of the important partners in the test phase, as it is supporting the first steps of the initiative. On the basis of this experience, further cases will be developed that enable the fluid transmission of data between a series of inland ports and the seaport of Rotterdam.
Now it’s up to the logistics players
The aim is to create a digital corridor that makes it possible to transmit data freely and securely, reduce complexity and increase efficiency for inland waterway transport services and ports. As a result, everyone involved will benefit – import and export companies, terminal operators, shipping companies, ports as well as national customs authorities.
To achieve this, the active involvement and participation of the various cargo communities is also required.
The initiative has set itself the clear goal of generating benefits as quickly as possible; it therefore aims to complete the test phase by the end of the year, so that the ramp-up can take place in 2025.
Together with the community the initiators want to successfully establish the digital corridor connecting inland and sea ports and play a key role in the future of port logistics.