Lyttelton Port pioneers SPARCS N4

Although officially unveiled at the NavisWorld 2006 biennial user conference in San Francisco late last month, Navis’ latest product release had already been weeks in operation at the central South Island port.

Navis senior Public Relations Manager Orlando De Bruce said LPC was considered the ideal first customer from its 170-strong global base, due to the port’s size and general operating practice.

“LPC had a fairly sophisticated terminal operating system in SPARCS, using most of its advanced modules, thus it provided an ideal test bed to utilise SPARCS N4 to its fullest potential, ” he said.

“LPC’s lower container volumes also minimised the risks and impact of any operational hiccups that are the norm with the first deployment of a brand new system.”

Although some initial teething problems were indeed experienced, LPC information technology manager Darrin Bain said the new terminal operating system had since “definitely exceeded” expectations.

“It has given us the ability to manage reports, EDI and rules for our customers, ” he said.

“The architecture of the system supports multiple complexes, facilities and yards which is a fantastic fit for our strategic direction. We now have the ability to extend the system to CityDepot (our new inland port) and integrate it with other functions such as harbour management and motor vehicle imports.

“SPARCS N4 is an excellent product and will be one of our core IT applications for many years to come.”

Bain said his team was now focused on productivity tweaks and tailoring the product to meet specific customer requirements, such as the layout of reports.

“The new container management system provides our customers with far greater visibility of their information and empowers them to access information when they require it.

“Using the Web-enabled application, our customers now operate exactly the same software as our own employees which has significantly improved our ability to provide training and support.

“We are already seeing the benefits through reduced costs and quicker response to customer requests. The most significant aspect of SPARCS N4 is its ability to define business rules and actions without the need to write custom code.”

He said the next stage of deployment would be to reinstate LPC’s self-service truck kiosks, which were deliberately deactivated to enable the port company to stay closer to its transportation customers.

“After that we want to look at extending the use of the system into other areas of the port, initially tracking imported motor vehicles and also using it at our inland port.

“We are planning to install the ‘business intelligence’ module of SPARCS N4 which will give us real-time key performance indicator reporting and trend analysis.

We also plan to work with Navis on the ‘billing’ module.

“Another significant area which we have started planning is using our customers’ booking data to populate the system, enhancing accuracy.”

De Bruce said Navis was also in the throes of planning other port deployments for SPARCS N4.

“But our first priority is to complete the LPC deployment, followed by the general availability release of the SPARCS N4 product to all potential customers that match its feature set.

“Early feedback from both internal and external customers has been very positive, specially use of the Rich Thin Client user interface which allows access from virtually anywhere with a very efficient and productive working environment.

“We believe that the combination of productivity generated and low total cost of ownership will truly change the competitive landscape even more in our favour.”