Energising India’s ports
Technology-driven innovations, if properly harnessed, will transform the country’s ports infrastructure and unleash its potential as a key growth engine for the economy
Technology has been setting new benchmarks of comfort in every facet of our lives. The way we work, travel, communicate, eat out or explore leisure options is becoming simpler. Every now and then we have a new set of ideas jostling to find our attention.
Why then should technology elude core sectors such as the ports business in India? Well, not many were willing to buy into the idea of strategic investments into technology for an infrastructure business.
Incidentally while the thought kept playing at the back of my mind, I stumbled upon ample reading materials indicating the gradual yet affirmative adoption of technology in major infrastructure projects. Drone-powered solutions, 3D printing, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles and, of course, the Internet of Things (IoT) are gradually infusing energy into predictable, labour-intensive and engineering-driven landscapes.
My clarity was reinstated.
Why can’t ports function as seamlessly as a holiday aggregator or any e-commerce experience for that matter? I said to myself. Perhaps for the first time, we went back to the drawing board with a first-of-its-kind agenda. We realised that most port operators including market leaders and our global peers had pushed IT upgradation beneath the carpet.
The reluctance primarily stemmed from inherent challenges in acceptance of technology. Many would agree that the workforces running ports across the globe aren’t the savviest. Further, being based out of remote locations, port operators have limited choice in attracting tech-savvy talent pools. That said, we had to begin from scratch.
We started off by laying an overarching road map focussing on four dimensions — customer delight, technology innovation, automation and cyber security through intelligence.
This meant a complete overhaul of processes including the enterprise architecture, IOT solutions, infrastructure modernisation and upgrading our terminal operating systems.
Fleet and fuel management, asset monitoring, digitalisation of processes, mobility, operational intelligence and performance monitoring of the applications — the journey that began around a year ago has been absorbing ever since.
While the transformation is a vast and ongoing process, let me give you a broad glimpse of the changes unfolding at our flagship facility in Mundra. Firstly, it was essential to streamline our rail planning, operations and pepper the service with some cutting-edge automation.
The purpose was clear: Simplifying operations and ramping up efficiency. For instance, RFID automation and real-time data capture through VMTs and HHTs would significantly cut down elementary delays.
Going forward, we expect the average turnaround time to halve, a surge in volumes without adding resources, and an increase in in-transit visibility utilisation by eliminating unproductive trips, among other benefits. The sweetest part of the deal is for our customers, who get real-time status of operations from the comfort of their locations.
Now let me come to the game changer.
Anybody who has visited a busy port would agree that it is an island of cacophony — people, vehicles and goods moving all over the place, much like a massive beehive under construction.
But the old world charm comes with its own gaps in efficiency. We decided to create a virtual platform for all direct and indirect customers. The idea was to replace thousands of calls between hundreds of people to a few mouse clicks. At the same time a laundry list of processes such as exports, import, transportation and custom clearance would get digitalised.
The benefits will trickle in soon — better rake planning to advance scheduling of outbound containers movement, while the overall customer interface is expected to be a breeze. But stakeholders’ acceptance of technology continues to be the real challenge. It is human to resist the fear of the unknown. Whether it’s a path-breaking tax reform or cuttingedge technology, our natural instinct is to resist change. However, I am happy to see some disruption in this space.
Our internal stakeholders, government authorities and particularly customers are gradually warming to the idea of kicking in efficiency through intelligence and innovation.
For instance, for nearly a couple of months since it went live the digital platform failed to find takers. But if you see the line graph a month later, nearly 80-90 per cent of customers have moved on to the digital platform.
This, however, is just the beginning of a journey. While technology will continue to evolve and open up dimensions of growth, we first need to bring a paradigm shift in mindsets. Today India has the competitive edge to embrace technology in its ports infrastructure. While we have always believed in the underrated potential of ports as one of the key economic growth engines for India, the need of the hour is to break stereotypes and embark upon a new narrative.
While technology will continue to evolve and open up dimensions of growth, we first need to bring a paradigm shift in mindsets. Stakeholders’ acceptance of technology continues to be the real challenge