Recently ML algorithms beat the best Go player for the first time, a game much harder than chess. Another was able to accurately predict the date of death of thousands of terminal patients in hospitals from their initial data. With enough information about a logistics chain, an AI-enabled platform can advise a transportation company to save time and money by making smarter decisions.

 

AI relies on machine learning (ML) and current data analysis, and lays down rules for future actions. For example, a person working in a port may know from experience that 80% of deliveries usually arrive late from a particular carrier from Rotterdam. But there is not enough time or information available to do anything in addition to informing the customer about the delay when this happens. However, an ML-enabled logistics platform can predict the likelihood that a single container may be late in coming to Rotterdam on a certain date. If this value is 89%, the platform redirects the container to avoid delays.

 

As? Because the algorithm can have access to hundreds of historical logistical data, access to hundreds of variables from IoT and can use multiple predictive models thousands of times, to have reliable predictive relationships, to learn and to know what humans have never imagined. No human being could devote so much attention to a transaction and make such a complicated decision in a short time and based on huge amounts of data. Rapid and thorough evaluation of the possibilities will make a difference in the logistic chain and ports. With AI, a vehicle booking system at the port terminal and ship slots concierge becomes more than just a way to control the containers. It is a capacity management system and full quality of service. The system can become so sophisticated that reserves can be optimized and allocated by the algorithm, which will command the actions of the truck drivers (or the driving algorithms of these) and the park and dock equipment of the port terminal, as well as the slots of ships. This reduces time wasted.

 

By planning equipment and staff stocks, the means to only support the workload received, the port becomes leaner, more flexible and more capable of responding to changing environments and markets (...).

 

In conclusion, times are rapidly changing and a port authority today must act as a conductor whose musicians are shipping companies, flow manufacturers and logistics integrators. The port authority must co-produce and compose technical and technological issues. The challenge is to create ecosystems, communities of interests and practices that make the port smarter and more competitive. Port authorities often tend to stay in their ivory tower, but it's time to move or stay behind.

 

Source, Revista Cargo.