Portchain today announced a 5-year global partnership with Hapag-Lloyd to deploy Portchain Connect across their global operations. Portchain Connect digitizes the berth alignment process between carriers and terminals, empowering them to make earlier and more frequent planning decisions for the benefit of schedule reliability and terminal asset utilization. This digital transformation will further position Hapag-Lloyd to accelerate other initiatives that rely on timely and accurate schedule information to serve their customers better.
Using Portchain Connect, Hapag-Lloyd will transform their traditional email and phone communication to a digital flow of information for aligning berth arrival information with terminals, offering their terminal network direct access to schedule updates and essential vessel call information on the platform. By taking this step, Hapag-Lloyd empowers terminals with the data to optimize their berth planning, leading to improved customer service and improved asset utilization.
"We are delighted to be working with Portchain on digitizing and streamlining our berth alignment processes and look forward to creating value for our important Terminal partners throughout our network. We believe in the power of leveraging automated data flows to optimize our Port Calls and create transparency and efficiency for our valued Marine and Port Operations teams globally’’
Andrew Allen, Director – Terminal Partnering, Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd chose to partner with Portchain because of its experience with solving berth alignment inefficiencies in container shipping, and its position as a neutral software vendor focused on creating value for both carriers and terminals. Portchain provides a platform that enables carriers and terminals to securely share their schedule and berthing data with each other through their systems and an easy-to-use web application. The unique combination of system and user-generated data ensures that any container terminal or ocean carrier can join the network - no matter how large, small or digitally mature their operation is.
Portchain Connect facilitates digital handshakes and alignment between the terminal, carrier and connected stakeholders. This alignment process enables the opportunity to capture the benefits of Just-In-Time (JIT) arrivals, which the IMO estimate can reduce CO2 emissions and bunker consumption by 5.9% in the 24 hours leading up to arrival.
Portchain Connect has been adopted by 33 terminals in the past 10 months, and the growth of the network is accelerating. Network growth will be further reinforced by 3 ocean carriers trialing the platform in the coming months.
"We are excited to partner with Hapag-Lloyd to digitalize the berth alignment process with terminals across the world. Hapag-Lloyd is an ambitious ocean carrier that is taking big steps to digitalize its operations and enable Just-In-Time Arrivals with its terminal network. We are excited to help them unlock the value of their data, providing terminals with more accurate and timely information to improve terminal efficiency."
Niels Kristiansen, CEO & Co-Founder, Portchain
Portchain is the leading provider of berth alignment solutions for container terminals and carriers. Portchain works with leading container carriers and terminal operators to create sustainable win-win solutions to improve operational efficiency for container shipping. Founded in 2017 and based in Copenhagen, Portchain’s cloud-based software solutions are used on a global scale serving container terminals and carriers across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa.
With a fleet of 253 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.8 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 14,300 employees and more than 400 offices in 137 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 3.0 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 126 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents. Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.