Despite the lack of standardization and the complexity of transports, there is an abundance of new ideas, technologies and platforms that can significantly enhance operational efficiency within the project cargo industry. Many of these ideas and projects will be showcased at the Project Cargo Summit 2019. 

It is true that booking transport for project cargo will never be as easy as booking an airline ticket, simply because cargo dimensions will differ every time. There are, however, many other processes that can be digitized and that can deliver substantial operational efficiencies which will ultimately result in a number of dollars saved.

One of those processes, also the one most related to booking, is the bill of lading. Nowadays a bill of lading goes through dozens of people who all need to receive, read, sign and resend it via e-mail, creating a monstrous administrative burden which often results in delays. G2 Ocean, the world’s biggest breakbulk operator according to Dynamar, has successfully tested a digital bill of lading based on a blockchain solution.

The system completes the document ownership transfer securely and reliably within minutes.

The system completes the document ownership transfer securely and reliably within minutes. That stands as opposed to the days or weeks it takes to send a document via regular courier services, the shipping company states. “This new approach prevents delays and business damage or loss, demurrage and other costs. And it provides a level of safety and reliability never seen before in the business world,” G2 Ocean concludes.

Blockchain projects still sound like complex operations that require a lot of time and investment to set up, but thanks to an increasing amount of technology and platform providers implementation of blockchain does not have to complicated. On the 11th of September, G2 Ocean’s vice president of innovation Leif Arne  Strømmen will tell you exactly how they did it and why he so firmly believes that paper bill of lading is ready for retirement.

Before Strømmen will take to the stage, managing director Otto Thorenbosch and investor relations manager Stephan Benninga of Shipping Company Groningen, which is partly owned by Thorco Shipping, will tell you about their new blockchain-based investment platform called Shipfund. Through Shipfund, investors can buy tokens starting at a price of EUR 250 through investment platforms. The Dutch shipping company hopes this low entry barrier will convince more people to invest in vessels again. Interested in how they are succeeding? You will hear it first-hand at the Project Cargo Summit.

Lift equipment

Of course, innovations do not necessarily have to be based on blockchain. Sometimes a (relatively) simple website will suffice. A perfect example of this is Crane-Locator.com. Crane Locator can best be described as E-Bay of the heavy-lif and heavy transport industry. With the same ease you can buy or sell a camera on E-bay, Crane-Locator allows you to rent, buy or sell heavy-lift equipment through an online platform. Are you in sudden need of an SPMT? Crane-Locator will show you who has one for sale or rent in your area. On both the 11th and 12th of September, CEO Vladimir Herasymenko will present a workshop in which he shows how the platform works and which operational issues it can solve.

Huisman Equipment scored worldwide headlines last year when it was the first company to 3D-print a heavy-lift hook. The question now is: what does this mean for the future of the heavy-lift industry? Will spare parts become available on-demand? On the 12th of September, Huisman’s manager of research and development Eric Romeijn will tell you in detail how the 3D-printed hooks have held up in operation and in which direction the company believes this technology will go.

Digital driver license

This is just a small selection of the digitization projects that will be featured at the Project Cargo Summit. Liebherr will be present to tell you how big data will shape the energy-efficient crane of the future, while We4Sea sees big data as the perfect tool to lower fuel consumption. And much like the digital bill of lading, heavy road transport alliance BigMove will share how they realised to digitize the driver licences of about 100 drivers and what operational and financial benefits this has brought.

The Project Cargo Summit is a 2-day international exhibition and conference where 50 businesses will showcase their work and innovations and dozens of speaker will share their insights. The event will be attended by 1,500 project cargo professionals, providing excellent network opportunities. Following the success of the first edition, the Project Cargo Summit 2019 will again take place in the Onderzeebootloods in Rotterdam on the 11th and 12th of September. Want to know more about this unique project cargo event? Please visit our website at www.projectcargosummit.com.