The Dubai-based port operator DP World is taking advantage of disruptive technologies in an attempt to strengthen its logistics infrastructure and diversify its portfolio to better meet the dynamic business needs of its customers and partners.
Technological innovations have taken place in the company for more than a decade, but Mike Bhaskaran, chief operating officer and chief technology officer of DP World, who took over in less than two years, is accelerating the digital transformation to offer a more Safe and fast, efficient and more sustainable solutions.
“When I started in the middle of last year, we saw an opportunity for back-office automation. We chose Oracle Fusion ERP as a platform to generate consistency in our multiple geographies. We are slowly implementing it in our global operations, ”he said.
It is extremely important to strike a balance between financial and procurement systems throughout its infrastructure in more than 40 countries, he said, so that they can speak the same language and that was the beginning of the trip.
Mainly, he said that the company’s customers are transatlantic and freight agents and if “we can facilitate their work in the exchange of data, facilitate access to data and provide a perfect integration as things move, physical goods and data assets will help financial flow too. “
Technology, in many ways, he said, has reduced the number of movements in the yard and on-time delivery to customers to make it easier for them through a wide range of applications.
“Our goal is to facilitate the movement of goods in several countries with the click of a button,” he said.
Subsequently, Bhaskaran’s focus was on office products, office automation and the transfer to the cloud, providing solutions to accelerate the flow of goods through its ports and services.
“For us, being a global commercial facilitator, we focus on terminal operating systems to facilitate access (how quickly people can reach our ports), container movement, billing, collaborate with our customers and provide customer-centric solutions.
“The center of the digital transformation is the client. How can we facilitate access and do our job better to serve them and provide solutions, ”he said.
Box-Bay Storage to relieve traffic congestion
DP World has pioneered working with Navis, based in the USA. UU., For terminal operating systems and is at the forefront of technological innovation, such as Hyperloop and Box-Bay Storage.
DP World had signed a partnership with Virgin Hyperloop One in 2018 to revolutionize the transport of people and goods.
Bhaskaran said Box-Bay Storage, which can stack 11 containers vertically, can shuffle containers when necessary and reduce space and will be launched later this year.
“Now, we can’t put a full container at full load on top of an empty container, but with Box-Bay storage, you can do it. An automated system can recover each one without moving any other. The main objective of this initiative is to reduce traffic congestion within the terminals for container movement, ”he said.
Although DP World currently does not use physical robots, he said they use robotic process automation (chatbots) for tasks.
“We don’t infuse technology for the sake of technology and it all depends on where the applications are required and then we buy the best technology. We use Oracle CRM for a specific purpose and SAP Hana for the generation of reports and, in some cases; we have built it internally and we have our terminal operating system, known as Zodiac, ”he said.
In addition, he said the cloud is a journey and they have moved most of the division’s emails to the cloud, Microsoft Office 365, and some SaaS platforms (software as a service) are already in the cloud.
However, Bhaskaran is not out of sight that everything should be in the cloud and everything depends on the applications of the applications where they want to use it.
“In some cases, we want the applications to be local and it is important when it comes to safety and importance for the customer. We have just started using blockchain and we will start some pilot projects very soon, mainly in the use of document exchange and supply chain, and we are building new use cases, ”he said.
Bhaskaran said the digital journey has begun worldwide and everyone is excited.
Taking advantage of blockchain technologies
“In the next two or three years, many of the new tools and new processes that we are developing right now will be in our entire network. The exchange of documents, taking advantage of blockchain and creating smart contracts will be a great opportunity for the logistics sector, ”said Bhaskaran.
For a digital transformation to succeed, he said that culture is an essential factor in attracting, developing and retaining digital talent within the organization and talent is the number one challenge in digital transformations, globally and locally.
But Bhaskaran said DP World has an “innovative culture.”
“The staff is always looking for new ways to improve the experience of our customers and it was very positive. Of all the technological opportunities and business processes, what we use must be the most appropriate for our customers. As we have a lot of automation and documentation, we discover that blockchain solutions will help us solve the problem. So, the culture was innovative and receptive.
“The culture change management aspect was very warm and receptive. It was a very collegial culture as a company and then the question was when we had a good business case, they were all receptive and did the right thing for the client, ”he said.
In addition, he said that there is a culture of learning within the company and that the latent capacity within the organization itself was high.
“Most of the staff is using new tools such as mapping and visualization, and there is a tremendous appetite for learning and it is inherent in the culture. I didn’t have to do anything, since it was the best part of my job, “he said.
In addition, he said the main focus this year will be on back-office automation, blockchain-backed technologies and advanced terminal operating systems.
“It’s a trip and you need to do a lot of work in the next three years,” he said.
Despite being at the forefront of innovation, DP World does not want to rest on its laurels and is always looking for innovative companies around the world that can generate innovation for them, whether in IoT devices, blockchain, AI and other advanced technologies.
The company is working with an accelerating platform of Indian technology for logistics, Log-X, both in Kerala and in different parts of India in search of new technologies and new companies that arrive to help the ecosystem they have.
“We have met several companies and they are doing a good job in fleet automation, truck automation and they are good for us on our digital journey. Innovation will play an important role in building an integrated logistics platform that offers comprehensive solutions for cargo owners, ”he said.
