A pilot project has kicked off between the Port of Long Beach and GE Transportation to advance the planning process for cargo moving through the busiest port complex in North America.
Over the next two months, companies involved in moving freight at the Southern California port will use GE’s Port Optimizer software to access data that will help them move cargo containers more efficiently. Port Optimizer enhances cargo flow as terminal operators and other stakeholders that utilize it receive better and more timely notification of cargo arrival. This involves coordinating data on the availability of equipment, labor and other resources needed to transport cargo through the supply chain.
These capabilities serve many stakeholders across the port complex, including marine terminal operators, ocean and motor carriers, railroads and cargo owners, the port and GE noted. Three of the Port’s six container terminals–Long Beach Container Terminal, Total Terminals International and International Transportation Service–are involved in the project. The system was introduced the twin Port of Los Angeles last year.
“We welcome the opportunity to have this exciting technology demonstrated here in our Port,” Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero said. “We are always searching for new means toward improving operational efficiencies in the supply chain as it moves through this port complex. We look forward to observing Port Optimizer in action.”
Jen Schopfer, vice president and general manager of transport logistics for GE Transportation, said, “Not only will GE be piloting our product’s core capabilities around advanced visibility and planning, but we are also launching some Long Beach-centric functionality.”
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These new functionalities include marine terminal operator and land-based transportation operations coordinated using the system for better planning and cargo handling, including MatchBack Systems, a Software as a Service (SaaS) organization, for advanced and predictive data analysis addressing truck congestion.
GE Transportation is a global technology supplier of equipment, services and digital solutions to the rail, mining, marine, stationary power and drilling industries. Its innovations help customers deliver goods and services with greater speed and savings using advanced digital solutions, manufacturing techniques and connected machines.
Long Beach is served by 175 shipping lines with connections to 217 seaports worldwide. For the calendar year, the Port of Long Beach is on pace for its busiest year ever, topping 2017. Through July, volumes are 11.3% or almost 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) over the same period in 2017, totaling 4.6 million TEUs.