2019-07-05

Port data highway

- The implementation of the Port Community System can only be successful if the majority of participants firmly believe in the benefits of the system. Of course, Polish ports and the transport industry must promote this idea politically and must be willing to allocate funds to its implementation. The success of PCS also very strongly depends on the number of interested users who will then use the system. The positive effect increases with the number of users - says Sven Daniels, IT Director, HPC Hamburg Port Consulting GmbH.

PCS, as a port community system, is a central data hub where all actors in the supply chain, i.e. shippers, terminal and warehouse operators, railway companies and carriers, warehouses, customs, border guards, fire brigades, local port authorities and other entities, exchange data relevant to their business activities. Without PCS, every actor must establish their own direct data connections with business partners, resulting in a huge disorganised messaging network, such as the spaghetti network. PCS as a data concentrator equalises such a network to a star structure in which everyone sends and receives relevant messages to one specific address, i.e. a PCS address. Consequently, each participant in the system has to implement only one data interface to the PCS instead of different interfaces to all its business partners. In this sense, the system facilitates the exchange of data, saves costs and reduces the risk of technical misunderstandings. In addition, PCS usually offers IT services with the highest level of cybersecurity that are difficult to achieve individually.
Especially as data play a very important role in today's business, not only in the maritime, port and logistics sectors. Accurate and up-to-date information facilitates business processes, secures costs, increases operational security and helps reduce emissions. Looking at the supply chain, we can still see a huge potential for improving the synchronisation of processes between stakeholders, mainly due to lack of information. PCS provides an expressway of data comparable to the development and expansion of our road and rail networks in the port.
In addition, PCS as a data concentrator aligns the network to a star structure where everyone sends and receives the relevant messages to one specific address. Consequently, each participant in the system has to implement only one data interface to the PCS instead of different interfaces to all its business partners.

Today, PCS is a necessary solution for ports and the logistics market. Data play a very important role in today's business. Accurate and up-to-date information facilitates business processes, secures costs, increases operational security and helps reduce emissions. This means the benefits of participating in this system are obvious.

- Entering the PCS must be profitable even for smaller companies, so the pricing model should take into account the financial potential of all members. What is more, the technical requirements for joining the PCS must be low, as not every member runs its own IT department to develop complex message scenarios. But surely a large acceptance for PCS can be obtained if the means to configure the system will not have to be laid out by future members. And this is where the Polish government, local governments or the EU should act: all these institutions should be asked by the community for financial support for the Polish PCS - concludes S. Daniels

Article developed with "Namiary na Morze i Handel" magazine.

phot. "Namiary na Morze i Handel" magazine