Its not the software, its the attitude

Dominique Lebreton of Marseille Gyptis International (MGI), which ran the international survey commissioned by IAPH, explained that putting in a Port Community System (PCS) was “really not technical stuff”: more central is the organisation on which it hangs.

“What we saw, 100% of the time, was that implementing a PCS meant it was necessary to build a new order around it. From a practical and economic perspective, you have to be prepared to take on organising the community, all the way through from freight forwarder to port authority and customs to shipping lines.” He added that in order to guarantee a fit between the current organisation and the proposed system a study is always required: this also helps smooth the transition path.

Of course this isn’t easy says Mr Lebreton. “You have to deal with what I call the international paradox in transportation: private and public objectives that don’t necessarily sit easily together, public bodies that want more secure transportation to comply with regulations, and private bodies who want speed and efficiency in their logistics operations.” So, public-private partnership is a key factor, he says.

But in order to get this level of buy-in you have to start talking early to the people that matter: the users. And this is where things can come unstuck – “In order to make it work you need early participation. When we implement an information system, we sometimes forget to take into account the people, but we need to integrate the users into the process from the very beginning,” he said.