The Port of Rotterdam now offers the tracking of dry cargo flows. NPRC, the inland shipping cooperative, digitized its ‘supply chain’ in an efficient way in order to enable clients to monitor the status of their cargo with precision. Since summer, clients have been in the position to track connections to sea-going transport in Rotterdam as well as have real-time insight into inland shipping transport.
Over the past year, the NPRC started investing in ‘data-driven logistics optimization’, including the creation of an app in which inland shipping companies forward all information about dry cargo transport digitally, moving from when companies used to forward their travel data and status by telephone which could be a time-consuming and error-prone task.
In fact, NPRC is one of Europe’s biggest bulk providers, handling 14 million tonnes of dry cargo annually, with around 200 NPRC-affiliated inland vessels are in transit somewhere in Europe daily.
NPRC’s Business Development Manager, Wilco Volker stated that such data was mainly used for scheduling purposes , but it was noticed that a lot more could be done with that information. He added that
In the past, clients never knew exactly when a vessel would arrive in the unloading port or how many tonnes of cargo it was carrying. Sharing our transport data with clients enables us to make the process clearer and the logistics chain becomes more transparent.
He explained that, for instance “our German agricultural clients can now use our online dashboard to see exactly when they can expect their wheat or animal feed to arrive. We can also give them real-time insight into the most important KPIs. It sounds so logical, but for now we are the only ones working with this system.”
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The module for sea-going vessels was developed in partnership with the Port of Rotterdam Authority, due to the fact that inland shipping transport is part of the route that dry cargo covers. Additionally, the module has ensured that clients can also find sea-going vessel arrival times and their unloading location in the same dashboard, since summer.
Volker stated that “we are still in discussion with other parties, for instance with cargo handling, to see how we can make a digital link with their systems. In the future, it would be great if we could also see when the vessel has opened its hatches, where the cargo is located in the hold and when the cargo is due for unloading.”
This can also amount to a more efficient transshipment, as individual schedules sometimes can run over, so there is a need for additional buffer time, which results in vessels ending up waiting empty. It was added that
Not all companies are ready, but there’s so much to be gained if we share certain data with each other.
Earlier this month, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Stedin and TenneT, carried out a study on the consequences of the energy transition for the power grid in Rotterdam’s port area, estimating that there will be a substantial increase by a factor of two and possibly even four, in the demand for green and other electric power over the next few decades on the part of Rotterdam’s industrial sector.
In September, the municipality of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam Authority launched a pilot project which focuses on a variety of mobile shore-based power solutions for sea-going vessels together with five commercial parties.
