Port terminal congestion management. An integrated information systems approach for improving supply chain value

The increasing size of freight vessels has influenced the volume and level of traffic congestion at landside port terminals. Port responses impact on the socio-economic and environmental costs experienced in port hinterlands. In regional ports especially, these costs may have implications for regional development and the capacity of supply chains to retain and/or optimize value. Conventional port responses tend to adopt a narrow focus on terminal operations or on the potential benefits terminals and carriers can achieve through collaboration and integration. Few studies have adopted a supply chain perspective or examined how information systems may be used to balance competing user needs.This research-in-progress paper highlights how a supply chain perspective deploying information systems can improve port congestion management by stimulating collaboration amongst multiple transport and terminal operators. Preliminary results show promise for the identification and delivery of an agreed solution to minimize port congestion and support value chain resilience