The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has released a guide to setting up and operating a port community system (PCS).
‘Port Community Systems: Lessons from Global Experience’ is a step-by-step guide developed in collaboration with the World Bank.
“Time, as they say, is money, and nowhere is this truer than in the increasingly competitive arena of international trade,” says the IAPH.
“Imagine waiting for days just to get cargo clearances while your perishable cargo is being ruined and your clients complain.”
A PCS - a digital platform for port management – can virtually eliminate this problem, says the IAPH, slashing paperwork and red tape by linking, in real time, stakeholders ranging from customs agencies to port workers, shipper, logistics companies and freight forwarders.
Yet many low- and middle-income countries face technical and financial constraints to the adoption of PCS, warns the IAPH, risking falling further behind as advances in digital technology accelerate.
To this end the IAPH and World Bank developed the report which includes detailed case studies showing how such systems have improved port efficiency around the world.
