Customer Solution Case Study
/ / MobileWebSiteHelpsStreamlinePort Operations and Increase Trucker Efficiency
Overview
Country or Region:United States
Industry:Transportation and Logistics
Customer Profile
Virginia International Terminals (VIT) was established in 1982 to unify the Port of Virginia terminals. Today VIT operates the Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Front Royal terminals, which handled more than 1 million containers in 2004.
Business Situation
To increase efficiency, VIT wanted to provide its trucker community with real-time access to critical logistics information regarding the arrival and movement of containers at the Port of Virginia.
Solution
The VIT Web group built a mobile version ofits public Web site, enabling truckers to access terminal cameras, container tracking, and other logistics information through a Web-enabled cell phone or other mobile device.
Benefits
More efficient port operations
Reduced wait time for truckers
Increased trucker satisfaction
Enhanced competitive advantage / “Because it’s so easy to add services using the .NET Framework, we’re continuing to look for new ways to use the mobile Web site to help truckers and the port community work together more efficiently.”
Dave Seale, Director of IT, Virginia International Terminals
Located on one of the deepest harbors on the East Coast of the United States, the Port of Virginia is experiencing significant growth in container traffic. Virginia International Terminals (VIT), the company that operates the port’s four terminals, determined that making key logistical information directly available to truckers in real time was critical to maintaining efficient operations in the face of that growth. VIT decided to extend the services provided through its existing Web site—including access to terminal cameras, container tracking, and other logistics information—to a mobile Web site that truckers can access through a Web-enabled cell phone or other mobile device. Through this mobile access, truckers are able to time their arrivals more efficiently, which helps minimize lines at terminal gates, increase trucker satisfaction, and give the port a competitive advantage.
Situation
The Port of Virginia has a natural harbor with 50-foot-deep, unobstructed channels that provide easy access for today’s largest container ships. In addition, six direct-service trains to 28 major cities each day and easy highway access have helped make the Port of Virginia one of the fastest growing ports on the East Coast of the United States.
Virginia International Terminals (VIT) operates three marine terminals for the Port of Virginia—Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News—and one inland port at Front Royal. The primary functions of VIT are to receive, move, and deliver containers that pass through the port by truck, ship, and rail. Teamwork among port employees and the thousands of truckers who pass through the terminal gates every day is critical to moving those containers efficiently.
In the past, when customers, truckers, and ship lines wanted information about terminal conditions, container status or location, or other details, they would call VIT clerical staff at the terminals. However, at peak times the phone lines could be jammed, and sometimes the answers were inconsistent.
Without accurate logistics information, truckers might come into the terminal to pick up or deliver a container, and be denied access. Then they would have to turn around and go to a different terminal, wasting their time and gas as well as gate personnel time. They also would have no way of knowing which gates had the shortest queues.
In 2002, in an effort to make timely terminal information easily available, VIT installed several network cameras at strategic locations around the Port of Virginia terminals. These cameras provide near-realtime views of gates and loading areas ona public Web site consisting of a set of Microsoft® ASP.NET pages running on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Standard Edition operating system, which is the foundation of Microsoft Windows Server System™ integrated server software. The solution also uses the Microsoft MapPoint® Web Service business mapping software to present maps of gate camera locations.
Through this site, truck dispatchers can view the degree of congestion at terminal gates and dynamically direct truckers to the gate with the least congestion. Truck dispatchers and ship line personnel also can access Webservices such as container tracking and booking number search, and other shipment details to make sure that the trucks are directed to the correct terminal. Authorized users can log on to a secure site enabled byWeb Services Enhancements 2.0 for Microsoft .NET to access restricted information.
“The public Web site is really just a front-end Web view of all these services—like the container tracking, booking lookups, and gate cameras—that we try to provide to end users,” says Brendan Tompkins, Principal Consultant from Port Technology Services, aconsulting firm that helped VIT set up the Web site. “We went with the Microsoft .NET Framework because it offers the best way to build a large service-oriented, scalable architecture.”
While the public Web site provides critical information to dispatchers, VIT saw that there would be even more value in providing that information directly to the truckers through mobile devices they already carry, such as Web-enabled cell phones. As cargo volumes began to increase due to several national retailers locating distribution centers in the area, the need to maintain efficient operations became even more important.
Solution
To make the services that are available through the public Web site available to truckers who are on their way to pick up or deliver containers at a terminal, Virginia International Terminals created a new front end to the public Web site that is accessible through a variety of mobile devices. Through this mobile Web site, truckers can monitor port traffic and container status before entering a terminal, and avoid unnecessary delays.
The mobile site was built using Microsoft ASP.NET mobile controls, which help developers create applications that run on a range of mobile devices including Web-enabled cell phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as the Pocket PC. These controls enable users to enjoy the same rich Web application experience on a mobile device as on a desktop computer.
“The mobile Web site is another view of the back-end Web service architecture that was used on the original site,” says Tompkins. “Truckers can view the cameras and track containers on the mobile site through their Web-enabled cell phones—just as if they were accessing the site from a PC.”
Because the mobile site reuses the services that were built for the regular Web site, it took the VIT Web group less than a week to build the mobile site. The bulk of that time was devoted to making the gate camera views display properly on a small cell phone. The mobile site went live in January 2004.
Now, as truckers approach the Port of Virginia terminals, they can use their Web-enabled cell phones or other mobile devices to check the terminal cameras to find the least congested gate, check container status, and look up their booking number so that they can take care of paperwork before they reach the gate. Truckers can also sign up for a “watch list” that automatically notifies them by email, text message, or phone call when their container has arrived and is ready to bepicked up.
Benefits
By deploying a mobile version of its public Web site that provides access to terminal cameras, container tracking, and other relevant cargo information, Virginia International Terminals is helping truckers interact with the Port of Virginia more efficiently. This helps increase port efficiency and trucker satisfaction, and helps give the Port of Virginia a competitive edge.
More Efficient Port Operations
With more than a million containers passing through the Port of Virginia marine terminals annually, timing is everything. To maintain efficient operations, truckers need to get to the right area at the right time to deliver or pick up a container. Improving efficiency is especially important since the port’s volume increased by about 15 percent in 2004. “We’re breaking volume records every week,” says Dave Seale, Director of IT for Virginia International Terminals. “When we can help the trucking community become more efficient, that benefits the business of the port because it helps us handle the increased volumes.”
Reduced Wait Time
The VIT mobile Web site enables truckers to see what is going on at a terminal so they can choose the least busy gate. It also gives them the information that they need to accurately fill out paperwork ahead of time so they can clear the gate faster. And they can check on the status of their containers to avoid having to wait around for delayed shipments. The average time to clear a gate has been reduced since implementing the mobile Website.
In addition to helping streamline port access and loading operations, the Web-based system has reduced phone calls to the port’s clerical staff while providing the port’s customers with more accurate, up-to-date information.
Increased Trucker Satisfaction
By helping truckers get where they need to go more efficiently, the VIT mobile Web site is helping increase trucker satisfaction with port operations. Since the events of September 11, 2001, there are more restrictions at the port, so conditions can change quickly. “Customs could put a hold on a container after we’ve told the trucker that it will be ready for pickup,” says Seale. “Now truckers can check the Web site just before they reach the terminal to find out about a delay so they don’t waste additional time in line.”
Truckers can also sign up to receive an e-mail or text message alert when the container has been released and is ready for pickup. The Web site and e-mail services are offered free to all companies that use the port.
Says Dustin Moskowitz, Co-owner of the Princeton Rug Company, “My father and I run a small business, and we import about 150 containers a year. Once I found the VIT mobile site, our flow of information has been much more timely and accurate than when we relied on our shipper to update us. We can act much faster on issues with truckers, or try to avoid issues in the first place. The site is really a fantastic tool.”
Enhanced Competitive Advantage
Providing these tools to help truckers access the Port of Virginia terminals more efficiently gives the port a competitive edge. “From a competitive standpoint, we’re providing a lot of services that might not be provided at other ports,” says Seale. “Because it’s so easy to add services using the .NET Framework, we’re continuing to look for newways to use the mobile Web site to helptruckers and the port community work together more efficiently. We believe these services are part of what gives the Port of Virginia a competitive edge.”
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