A group of leading ports from around the globe wrapped up a two-day meeting in Los Angeles this week as part of a maritime collaboration called chainPORT, a global initiative established in 2015 to digitally connect ports worldwide and boost efficiency within the global maritime supply chain.
The chainPORT initiative is led by the Ports of Los Angeles and Hamburg Port Authority in Germany, in collaboration with the Global Institute of Logistics. Other ports participating in the third annual meeting are Shanghai, Antwerp, Barcelona, Montreal, Felixstowe, Indonesia and Shenzhen.
Seroka kicked off the two-day meeting with a presentation about Port of Los Angeles’ supply chain optimization pilot project in partnership with GE Transportation. Together they are developing a digital portal that provides real-time shipping information for cargo owners and supply chain providers to more effectively track and plan for movement of their cargo from ocean transit to final destination.
Meier focused his presentation on a vision of the digitalized port of the future and what needs to be done to get there. Presentations were then given by leads of each of chainPORT’s five working groups: Smart IT solutions; Implications & Solutions for Ultra Large Container Vessels; Digital Change within Port Authorities; Project chainLOG; and the Port Academy.
Afternoon keynotes were given by Professor Nick Vyas of University of Southern California, who spoke on supply chain optimization and digitization, and Jay Samit, Independent Vice Chairman of Deloitte Digital, who discussed the challenges ports face, driving their needs for creative solutions. Visiting port representatives also toured the Port of Los Angeles, and paid a visit to Virgin Hyperloop One, the commercialized land-transportation concept for goods and passenger movement currently being developed in Los Angeles.