With 95% of all imports and exports transported by sea, the UK’s ports are essential to its economy. But with rising energy prices, supply chain pressures, and a looming climate crisis, there’s a growing need for ports to be more efficient, running at lower costs and with as little carbon footprint as possible.

Recent technological developments in 5G, local networks, and IoT have seen the introduction of smart ports. By tracking the movements of cranes, crates, transport equipment, and people in near real-time, a port’s operators and the various companies that operate in it can enjoy the benefits of more informed, data-led decisions, and better manage their resources.

However, many of the UK’s ports are often disjointed. Given the pressure for ports to modernise and move on from manual legacy solutions, it’s vital that the different elements which make up the port ecosystem are brought together to cooperate in running more efficient and sustainable smart ports

There are still challenges to be addressed in making the smart port concept a reality. The multiple elements that make up a port – the ferry operators, shipping companies, freight forwarders, and stevedore operators – can be independently-run, and often in competition with each other.

Many are still recovering from the impact of COVID-19 and will have been affected by the supply chain issues resulting from the war in Ukraine. They need to be persuaded what a smart port will mean for them; and how it will improve their business. This must therefore be taken into consideration when overhauling a port’s operations. 

It’s important to recognise that existing processes aren’t necessarily bad. Although many of the processes in a port environment won’t be digital, they work. They’ve evolved over time and the people that engage in them have experience and expertise – they’re good at what they do. But they may just be too labour-intensive, and that can result in a lack of efficiency. 

Moving from a manual, people-intensive process to a digitised approach is a journey. An incremental change strategy needs to be put in place which aligns with the values and objectives of the businesses concerned.  Communicating those changes is crucial, as is explaining the reasons behind them and the benefits you’d expect to see as a result. 

And you must bring the right people with you on the transformation journey. Those who clearly see the benefits of digitalisation will happily follow you.  It’s therefore essential to focus on those who may see any change as a threat to their job and demonstrate that the opposite will only improve their working lives. 

Smart ports represent a host of efficiency, cost saving, and sustainability benefits to every business that works in the supply chain ecosystem – particularly in today’s challenging economic conditions. Thanks to advances in IoT and network technology, unlocking these benefits is now more achievable than ever before. But the legacy of port operations means this won’t happen overnight. Careful consideration, change management, and communication are required to transform the UK’s ports for the overall betterment of the country’s economy.