Port Optimizer gives cargo owners 2 weeks more notice, Long Beach pilot finds

Dive Brief:

GE Transportation and the Port of Long Beach this week announced their two-month pilot of the Port Optimizer had concluded, and its results were now pending review by the port's Board of Commissioners.
The pilot project, aimed at improving cargo flow, led to positive results, according to a press release. Initial outcomes include: 14+ days faster access to information, improved turn times, increased throughput and more productive turns.
During the Port of Long Beach pilot, GE Transportation also added capabilities to the Port Optimizer, such as an integration of the Envio 360 Drayage Optimization Platform for improved terminal operation management.

Dive Insight:

GE is positioning its Port Optimizer as a "system of systems" wherein the platform can serve as the home base for dispatchers, drayage and equipment providers, terminal operators and shippers alike.

"On a typical day, a trucker/dispatcher will need to access more than 40 websites to facilitate their operations in the port," said Weston LaBar, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, in the press release. "This system will aggregate data from all stakeholders, condense it in one single access point, and allow truckers to begin planning their operations at least 10 days in advance of containers being ready for pick-up."

The pilot project in Long Beach was the second big step in a long-haul bid by the port community, led by the San Pedro Bay facilities, to test whether a national visibility portal can significantly improve operations.

GE had already tested the system in the Port of Los Angeles, and the two stakeholders are now working together to expand participation to every stakeholder that uses the port, Chris Chase, marketing director at the Port of Los Angeles, told Supply Chain Dive in an interview last month. Everyone, he explained, includes the 20+ shipping lines, 12 terminals, two railroads and 2,500 trucking companies that use the facility.

The end goal? "To move cargo more efficiently," Chase said.

In the meantime, the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners must decide if, after the pilot project, they too want to participate. The Port of Los Angeles is fully committed, but the Port of Long Beach — and any other port — is under no obligation to do so despite the Federal Maritime Commission's recommendation.