Renovotec calls for more flexible, real-time connectivity in port-hinterlands
The land/sea/air logistics industry is facing huge disruption. With retailers like Amazon leasing its own planes and airports to manage its cargoes and deliveries, rugged solutions provider Renovotec asks how soon will it be before sea vessels and ports are leased?
As Richard Hepworth* remarked: “Retailers are already disrupting shipping by taking greater control over logistics: they are moving from last mile delivery to first mile – and the first mile is supposed to be the remit of maritime.”
Renovotec claims that with global shipping of container traffic expected to outstrip seaport capacity, port and intermodal operators need to focus more closely on efficiency and speed. And with more mega-ships coming into service, the challenges landside look set to become even more acute.
Poor logistics networks, labour productivity issues in ports and inadequate port infrastructures all have the potential to bottleneck industrial growth in the port-hinterland. Add the uncertainty around the UK’s exit from the European Union and there are many issues facing the shipping and maritime sector.
As an island, the UK depends on its ports and harbours. 95% of international trade, both imports and exports, passes through its ports. Port authorities and carriers are busy redesigning and streamlining port-centric logistics and are increasingly looking to technology to minimise risk and maximise efficiency.
“Yard management systems are already improving operational effectiveness in many ports, while wireless security and infrastructure solutions are optimising efficiency and providing greater visibility of landside freight movement,” says Richard Gilliard of Renovotec.
Loading and unloading ships, and moving and stacking containers are demanding jobs that require precision. Technology such as vehicle-mount computers provides crane operators with clear information, regardless of lighting and weather conditions, thanks to their large, bright and crisp displays. It’s kit like this that is proving vital landside to improve efficiency on the frontline of busy seaports.
“And like Amazon’s decision to lease planes and airports, smart seaports are fast realising that renting rugged technology like vehicle mount computers, and other devices such as scanners, printers, handhelds and tablets offers real flexibility and cost effectiveness,” claims Gilliard.
Zebra, in partnership with Renovotec, has helped over 200 ports put wireless, mobile and rugged technology at the heart of their port-hinterland operations.
Renting devices allows companies to outsource the ownership, deployment, management and support of their hardware for a set monthly fee. At the end of the term, they have the options to terminate, upgrade or extend the contract.
Renting eliminates the capital outlay of replacing or upgrading depreciating equipment, and it also allows firms to access hardware on demand to cope with fluctuating and seasonal demands.
Rentals benefits
· Flexibility to add or decrease the number of devices according to operational workload
· Enhances productivity
· Eliminates the inconvenience of implementing and managing additional devices
· Support and maintenance packages to suit needs, including Hot Swap to replace faulty equipment while it’s being repaired
· Range of devices available to use straight out of the box
With flexible contracts ranging from 30 days to five years, hardware rental offers a cost-effective means of regularly replacing devices with the most advanced, energy efficient models on the market without the large capital outlay. Accidental cover is also available.
With seaports facing the arrival of more mega vessels and larger peak cargo volumes, the additional trucks and barges necessary to unload them is likely to increase congestion landside. This is where rentals can really benefit port operators as devices can be rented in accordance with workloads. And by sourcing all hardware from a single point of contact, the burden on in-house IT resources is reduced.
For more information visit https://smarterseaports.co.uk/products-solutions/hardware-rentals/
Visit Renovotec on stand 3058 at Multimodal, Birmingham May 1-3
*A new maritime operating system, Richard Hepworth, Trelleborg Marine Systems
