Navis’ opening keynote at Port Technology’s Container Terminal Automation Conference (#CTAC2018) has set the tone for the event by encouraging the container shipping industry to embrace technological change.
In his presentation, Scott Peoples, President, TOS Business Line, Navis — a terminal operating system (TOS) provider, helped the audience visualise the disparity between container shipping and other sectors by comparing its processes to that of other, more advanced logistics which exist today.
Peoples said: “What’s amazing to me is, today, I can have a relatively inexpensive consumer good delivered to my doorstep, and I can watch the UPS truck on my cell phone pull up to my doorstep and deliver my $5 package.
“Yet, at the same time, if I want to ship a container full of high-value goods half way around the world, I have very little visibility, very little ability to expedite or affect the delivery time, and so the challenge for all of us in this room is we have to change this.”
Scott Peoples @naviscargo President, TOS Business Line, calls for collaboration #CTAC2018 https://t.co/UAesO4Echx
— Port Technology (PTI) (@PortTechnology) March 14, 2018
Peoples addressed why the audience had attended the conference, stating that is was probably due to emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI and machine learning, which “all feel a bit mystical to all of us”, he said.
He added: “What PTI [Port Technology International] has done a great job of is pulling together really strong speakers that can help us understand this in a plain and simple language.”
Peoples said that executive commitment is the most powerful force in the industry today when he considered industry factors over the last half decade.
Scott Peoples @naviscargo President, TOS Business Line, explains the 'Working As One' Survey Results #CTAC2018 pic.twitter.com/wzQupHDIvr
— Port Technology (PTI) (@PortTechnology) March 14, 2018
He commented: “As we meet with the C-Level executives of ocean carriers and global terminal operators, technology software is strategic.
“Each of them [has it] focused, possibly, as its highest and most important initiative on how to transform their company, how to become more technology orientated, how to digitalize and how to become more strategic.
“That creates a great opportunity for all of us because there’s people with funding, with decision making authority that can make a difference.”
