THE IT SECTION\\\ Antwerp fights off cyber attack


The Antwerp port community is to set up a taskforce to stiffen defences against cybercrime. It follows a number of recent computer hacks that allowed containers to be stolen from the port in an apparently legal manner. “The fight won’t be easy,” says John Kerkhof of Antwerp Port Community System (APCS). “The taskforce will mainly work pre-emptively, by sharing best practices and learning from each other’s experience.” In addition to port companies the taskforce will also include CERT (the federal cyber emergency team). Applications that are relevant to the port community as a whole are made available by APCS to everyone. For instance, a few months ago MSC introduced a new Container Release System that enables containers to be collected from the port in a more secure manner. Users have to log into a secure portal site where they must identify themselves in order to gain access to the container release data. This technology has now been made available port-wide, thanks to APCS. “The great advantage of this application is that the crucial information needed to collect a container is not made up until the very last stage. Previously this information appeared earlier in the chain, so that various people could access it, thus increasing the chances of nefarious action,” explains Karel Vanderheyden of Avantida, the IT partner that helped to develop the technology. Port users also also being urged to sharpen up their act. “The best antivirus is the user. Technology alone will not stand in the way of criminal organisations,” John Kerkhof emphasises. “We all have to realise what difference we ourselves can make by being alert in our online environment. Cyber-security is the responsibility of every IT user.”


Online empties


The port of Rotterdam’s InlandLinks online intermodal platform has developed an ‘empty depot tool’ to show the inland terminals where shippers and logistical service providers can pick up and deposit empty containers, and later reuse them for a new load. It avoids the need to return empties to Rotterdam and will in turn cut carbon emissions.


The best-run shipping lines run SAP


French-based container line CMA CGM says it has developed the first information system totally dedicated to container shipping, thanks to a new partnership with business systems specialist SAP. It will manage commercial processes independently as well as automate management procedures for the line’s 10.6 million containers a year. The global project will cover 3.36 million bookings and every step of the freight management process, from the yards, ports and on board vessels, to transport, transhipment and discharge. The solution will be effective from the end of 2015 when new soſtware will begin to be deployed, a process which is expected to take two years.


Abu Dhabi gets first community system


Abu Dhabi Airport is to finally get its first community system, CCNhub, with the help of Singapore’s Cargo Community Network. Etihad Airport Services - Cargo, a subsidiary of Etihad Airways, is working with CCS to bring the latest portal technology to link forwarders and clearing agents with airlines, ground handlers and relevant third parties. The new system, which will go live before the end of the year, will also enable a range of electronic cargo services to be introduced. These include electronic customs manifest and delivery orders functions, providing a timely, cost-effective way of submitting customs data electronically and obtaining pricing information for delivery. “In line with Etihad Airways’ vision to promote Abu Dhabi as an international gateway, e-commerce has always been at the forefront of how we do business,” says Kevin Knight, the carrier’s chief strategy and planning officer. “Partnering with CCN to create a cargo technology platform will simplify business engagement for the entire Abu Dhabi cargo community.”


Where’s my wagon?


Railfreight users can now enjoy some of the same cargo tracking capability available to road haulage customers, thanks to FreightArranger, a new online brokerage. FreightArranger has developed a tracker providing real-time data of railfreight containers and swap bodies in transit. There are currently three railfreight operators and six forwarders piloting the system, but other forwarders are invited to apply to take part in the pilot. The system takes the customer booking information associated with each container on a train and Network Rail’s data, gained from the signalling system, which identifies exactly where every train is located at any time and whether it is delayed. Customers can design their own alerts notifying them if, for example, a train is running more than a certain amount of time behind schedule or is due to arrive in a pre-determined number of minutes, enabling the forwarder or shipper to plan collection more efficiently. The visibility can be extended to connecting road moves to and from the rail yard. As a bonus, the system is designed to match potential railfreight customers with empty wagons, in the same way that road haulage exchanges match shippers and forwarders (and other hauliers) with empty vehicles. FreightArranger only became operational this autumn, aſter two years in development. It received £1.3m worth of support from the government’s Technology Strategy Board and from private investors.


IT is elevated at Panalpina


Panalpina’s chief information officer Rod Angwin will be appointed to the company’s executive board from 1 January 2014. The forwarder said the appointment reflects the ever growing importance of IT for Panalpina and the industry as a whole.


Kewill to provide shipping solution


Transport soſtware specialist Kewill is providing the underlying supply chain technology powering a forthcoming visibility solution for the INTTRA ocean carrier network. INTTRA will integrate Kewill soſtware with its own multi-carrier e-commerce platform, enabling freight forwarders, shippers and carriers to access accurate, consistent and timely supply chain shipment information, and to identify and manage exceptions.


New MCP chief


Maritime Cargo Processing has appointed Alan Long as chief executive officer following the retirement of Paul Brigginshaw as executive chairman of the Company at the end of August 2013.


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Soſtware solutions – when the promise misses reality


Guest IT editorialist Peter Macswiney, chairman of ASM, leading provider of soſtware and support to the freight industry, looks at the issues of ‘selling the promise’ and how to avoid them.


We’ve moved away from many of the old soſtware issues of selling futures rather than reality, yet providers are still accused of ‘selling the promise’. Customers feel let down when solutions fail to work ‘as promised’ yet sometimes the problem is not exclusively down to providers. There’s oſten a fundamental communication mismatch between provider and customer. Matching expectation to reality without


thorough discussion and research, there’s considerable potential


for a ‘disconnect’


between provider offer and customer expectation. This is not simply ‘selling the promise’ - it’s a failure to match functionality to expectancy. The important focus when considering


changing soſtware is proper and rigorous due diligence. Prime among the prerequisites is prioritising requirements. Without analysis, decision-makers fail to properly judge the effectiveness of the core solution. In this case, I’m talking about customs clearance soſtware. Without due diligence, they sometimes ‘buy the sizzle not the sausage’. Communication at the right level is vital to


build a functional specification. The reverse is also true. When both parties are sparing with the functional spec, there’s a question over demand and delivery. Customers’ state what they want and providers tell them they can have it, yet neither fully understand what they’re asking for or promising. Some providers promise the latest update


is ‘just around the corner’ - that all depends on how far away that corner is and how long it takes to get there. It is pointless to promise functionality without knowing its availability. That’s why real-world working demonstrations are vital - if a potential provider can’t demonstrate their product in a real-world environment, they may be selling the promise, deliberately or otherwise. Soſtware is a business investment like any


other investment, clearance soſtware must provide a return on investment. It must be designed by industry specialists and built by sophisticated technologists to provide tangible cost savings through productivity, connectivity and compliance. Most importantly, it has to be here, now, operating in the real world and demonstrating specific


advantages. There is no point in adopting low-


competency solutions where limited industry and technical knowledge can’t deliver the key requirement – speed. That’s speed of use, support and operation. Neither is there any future in accepting old- generation solutions on the promise that a new version is on the way because limited investment and ‘falling behind technically’ cannot be redeemed overnight. With clearance soſtware speed is crucial.


Speed of use - through accurate design, layout and workflows that are simple, fast, easy use and interface to at every stage. Speed of support – so oſten forgotten, is a crucial part of the solution. It must be quality, permanent, quick and effective, with the right personnel and cover to make it work. Speed of operation demands investment


in technology and architecture to avoid ‘technological debt’. It must work fast in high-volume environments. Solutions that operate in the ‘slow lane’ are usually a failure to invest in technology. The result is solutions that are slow in high-volume environments, complex to interface to and with slow support response. Customers want to work how they want


to work. Customers are rarely interested in the


technology, they just want soſtware to do what it does; or more precisely, do what their business demands. Providers that fail to understand that can view ‘success’ as soſtware that works ‘as designed’ rather than soſtware that delivers what customers want. Customers rarely change their business


processes to meet soſtware. They want the soſtware to match their processes. That demands in-depth analysis of both business and soſtware to avoid forcing customers to operate in a ‘foreign’ way. To be successful both sides must


understand offers and needs, working processes and business


focuses. That


includes due diligence to deliver what customers want and the business needs. It’s the only way to avoid increasing costs, constant disruption, unworkable solutions and accusations of ‘selling the promise’.


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