Expanding Digital Solutions for Breakbulk

Also see main story: "Logistics Right For Transportation"

By Felicity Landon

There are clear opportunities for digitalization to make a difference in the breakbulk and project cargo sector, according to the Abu Dhabi Ports Group.

“Digital end-to-end planning and management tools will create greater visibility across the shipping cycle and ensure more effective tracking, faster delivery times and greater efficiency,” said Noura Al Dhaheri, head of the digital cluster at AD Ports Group and CEO of Maqta Gateway.

“In addition, the move from paper-based processes to digital, automated processes delivers significant benefits across the transportation chain, including greater data transparency and online coordination.”

A key part of the group’s strategy is expanding its capacity for general cargo and breakbulk, primarily through Khalifa Port’s South Quay and Khalifa Port Logistics, which are at the heart of an ongoing expansion project. Once complete, this work will add 6.2 kilometers of dedicated quay with depths ranging from 8 to 18.5 meters at the deepwater port.

“As a fully integrated operation, we are ensuring that all digital implementations mirror our investment in infrastructure – enabling us to manage higher volumes of general cargo and breakbulk and deliver a seamless and improved customer experience,” Al Dhaheri said.

AD Ports Group has invested significantly in digital since its establishment, she said, including building the first semiautomated terminal in the region at Khalifa Port.

Maqta Gateway, the group’s digital subsidiary, developed the region’s first Port Community System, a digital platform solution that provides a single window facilitating information flow between all stakeholders, port authorities and traders, and which has already delivered millions of dollars in efficiency savings, Al Dhaheri said.

The group’s Digital Cluster is built around five product lines: Single Window Solutions, marketplaces, smart devices and solutions, consultancy services and digital technology services. Among the services, a mobile app, Manara, enables real-time updates of the status of shipments as they reach their destination, as well as tracking transactions. The Masaha app enables customers to access all the information and services provided by Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi. Silsal, a home-grown blockchain technology, is offered to freight forwarders and their customers, and will be extended to the rest of the trade community. Margo Hub is a digital logistics marketplace and aggregator which, in addition to air and sea freight solutions, offers warehousing, truck booking, express parcel, and last-mile delivery services.


Introducing Autonomy

At Khalifa Port, CSP Abu Dhabi container terminal, COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd.’s greenfield project, will soon become the first terminal in the Middle East to introduce an autonomous port truck system. Six electric Qomolo Q-Trucks, equipped with a 360-degree sensory system with traffic monitoring and driving guidance system, will support mother vessel loading and unloading activities within the container yard.

Last year saw the launch of the Advanced Trade & Logistics Platform, developed and operated by Maqta Gateway under the supervision of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

Featuring more than 700 services and unified payment solutions, the platform serves as Abu Dhabi’s single window trade platform for all economic operators via sea, land, air, industrial and free zones. “It is greatly enhancing the customer experience across Abu Dhabi’s trade and logistics landscape,” Al Dhaheri said.

AD Ports Group sees a major opportunity to deploy digital innovations to improve sustainability throughout the value chain, she added.

“Nations are implementing aggressive net zero targets and we are deploying advanced technology to monitor and manage the emissions and waste created by global trade, including breakbulk.”

As an example, mUnity, developed by Maqta Gateway, is a custom-built system that uses blockchain technology to manage Covid-19 vaccines – tracking and tracing vaccine sourcing, storage, shipment and all related data in real-time at every step of the journey by Hope Consortium, an Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership delivering large quantities of vaccines globally.

The system features end-to-end visibility of every vaccine, from the manufacturing facility to when they arrive at vaccination centers in the UAE and other destinations worldwide. “Based on the availability of data, the system has the capability to track individual vaccine doses up until the time of the administration of the dose,” Al Dhaheri said. “This solution can be applied to other supply chains and commodities.”

PHOTOS:

Photo 1: An autonomous port truck system at Khalifa Port will support mother vessel loading and unloading activities: CREDIT: ABU DHABI PORTS

Photo 2: Noura Al Dhaheri, AD Ports Group