Ports : Piraeus strikes deal with INFORM to digitise car terminal

The Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) will implement an intelligent IT system from INFORM Vehicle Logistics to enable end-to-end supply chain transparency.

In a statement, PPA said it had decided to invest in digitisation to improve operations at its car terminal and its status as a hub for international vehicle trade.

Customers, suppliers, third party logistics providers (3PL) and customs authorities will be able to track via a web portal where and when a car has been delivered.

Additionally, the algorithms of this system are capable of optimizing the operational processes in the compounds through real-time decisions and advanced planning.

Consequently, this system gives PPA the advantage of improving its offered services and the flexibility of planning new business processes.

The system will allow PPA to more effectively use available resources and to continuously improve their processes.

Furthermore, it will allow PPA to increase their capacity to operate their car terminal. Covering over 145,000 square meters, the PPA’s car terminal provides a capacity of over 600,000 movements per year.

Located close to the centre of Athens, the Port of Piraeus occupies a geostrategic position for the eastern Mediterranean region. It is also considered an important transit hub for trade between Europe and Asia.

“Digital decision making for us means both making automated optimized decisions as well as helping our customers’ management to make operational and tactical decisions more easily by providing reliable real-time data,” said Hartmut Haubrich, Director Vehicle Logistics Systems at INFORM. 

“In the case of PPA, for example, we will automatically generate work orders and optimize the work orders in real-time to ensure that operations are smooth and target dates are met efficiently. In this way, we will increase the service capacity of the terminal, but also the availability and intelligent allocation of storage spaces”.

PPA BoD Chairman Yu Zenggang, also commented: “Under this new cooperation, PPA targets to increase its Car Terminal’s efficiency and competiveness and to make it more attractive for its customers.

“We believe that the vehicle logistics system of INFORM can guarantee the successful digital transformation of PPA Car terminal”.

On the other hand the most important figures of the Annual Financial Report 2019 are the following:
– The turnover amounted to € 149.2 million compared to € 132.9 million in the corresponding period of 2018, showing an increase of 12.3%.
– Profit before tax amounted to € 47.6 million compared to € 42.3 million in the year 2018, showing an increase of 12.5%.