Plotting a path for PCS

Nico De Cauwer has been confirmed as the new Secretary General of the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA). A long-time active representative of IPCSA, from 1 May he took up his new role which he will combine with his position as Business Architect Port Community Solutions at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

There are inevitably mixed feelings, as he will be stepping into a role held by Richard Morton, who passed away in 2022 after heading up IPCSA for 11 years from its founding as a European organisation.

“I want to continue Richard’s work and build on his amazing achievements – that is a big driver for me,” says De Cauwer. “There is already quite a strong network around me based on my previous experience, also thanks to Richard who introduced me to many people through IPCSA.”

IPCSA’s membership includes sea and air Port Community System (PCS) operators, sea and air port authorities and Single Window operators. The association is recognised for its expertise on the electronic exchange of information across borders and through the supply chain.

Naturally, there is an ongoing drive at IPCSA to champion PCSs and Single Windows – how they work, how they bring efficiency to cargo flows, how they can be developed and improved.

PRIORITIES
De Cauwer’s priorities? Expanding IPCSA’s membership, building on its reputation as an expert group, strengthening international relationships and ensuring effective collaboration

with other organisations. “IPCSA has always focused on the sharing of experience and expertise, with a strongly collaborative approach. We want to champion the development of practical, concrete collaboration projects with others in the industry,” he says.

De Cauwer has 30 years of experience in the port and maritime industry. He joined the digitalisation team of the Port of Antwerp in 1994 and in 2011 became Senior Business Developer at the Antwerp PCS. Since 2017 he has been IPCSA’s representative for Europe and North America and he has also been leading its Standards and Technology domain. Last year he took over as Chairman of the PROTECT message design group, which develops and supports the electronic reporting required by authorities for vessels entering or leaving a port or port area. PROTECT was integrated into IPCSA in 2021.

“Coming from the port environment, I understand that ports are all going for decarbonisation,” he says. “But that is really related to port operations and less towards PCSs. The discussion I want to initiate is where are PCSs in terms of relevance towards decarbonisation?

“PCSs provide a digital process where otherwise information would be exchanged on paper, with people driving around to get the paperwork from A to B. There is the efficiency side, too – an effective PCS avoids the problem of lorries queueing, with exhaust fumes building up, because of inefficiencies and lack of visibility on container clearance, etc. All of this means you are working towards a better environment – but we never say it! We need to broadcast more specifically and confidently what PCSs can do for decarbonisation.”

In ports where PCSs are established and working, they can often be taken for granted, says De Cauwer. “It’s a case of ‘OK, there’s the PCS, we will work through that’ – I would like to find a way to measure that gain for the environment and efficiency.”

GLOBAL EFFICIENCY
IPCSA is also focusing beyond the exchange of data within individual PCSs, to port efficiency on a global scale. “At a port level, we see the exchange of data and information within the port environment. But the exchange of information can be within the same PCS or with another PCS, or from carrier or forwarder in PCS ‘A’ to PCS ‘B’. On a global scale, you can gain efficiency through the exchange of data and information between platforms,” he says.

This is the philosophy behind IPCSA’s Network of Trusted Networks (NoTN), a pilot project that has been evolving over several years, to exchange data between its members.

The comparison with TradeLens, now abandoned as a project, is inevitable but De Cauwer says: “TradeLens didn’t work out. But what’s important is that there is a difference between the two in terms of business model and data ownership. The NoTN model means that data ownership remains with the party that provides the information to the platform. Also, NoTN is based on the exchange of information between PCSs as trusted, neutral third parties.”

As he steps into the Secretary General role, De Cauwer says an important focus will be what more the association can do for its members. “But also, it is collaboration with other organisations. For me, there are three main challenges: port efficiency through data sharing, decarbonisation and collaboration.”