The French firm aims to expand the IoT initiative to other terminals within the Valencia port in the future
French firm Traxens, which serves the supply chain industry, said that it is collaborating with the MSC Mediterranean shipping company on a pilot internet of things project at the port of Valencia, Spain. Specifically, Traxens says it is cooperating on this project with MSC Terminal Valencia and Valencia’s Port Authority, as wlel as the Fundacion Valenciaport (FVP).
The company said that the main aim of the pilot, which started in September 2018, is improving the operational efficiency of the port.
As part of the pilot project, MSC Spain trucks have been equipped with Traxens’ dedicated IoT devices, allowing for near real-time tracking of vehicles’ movement. Traxens said that this can help port authorities to predict and manage potential congestion, as well as to anticipate truck arrivals at the gates.
The French firm also highlighted that the overall operational efficiency is expected to improve due to easy monitoring of on-site road activity and improved fleet management.
Traxens has installed a gateway at the MSC Terminal to allow enhanced and secured connectivity. It will also provide access to its big data analytics platform, TraxensHub, via APIs, bringing enhanced analytics and reporting capabilities for port authorities.
“Our pilot project at the Port of Valencia is one of the first applications of an IoT system in a port environment and we are eagerly awaiting results,” said Jacques Delort, managing director of Traxens. “We believe that big data is the future of the shipping industry. We are delighted that we could cooperate with the Port of Valencia, which has ValenciaportPCS, one of the best-in-class Port Community Systems, on such an important project.”
“We have already used IoT devices by Traxens for tracking our containers and we believe that the functionality can really help port authorities in improving operations. This could bring benefits to all parties,” said Jaime Lopez, intermodal project leader for MSC Spain.
“The port of Valencia believes in the role of innovation and digitalization for the future of shipping ports, for example by using the [Port Community Systems] integration platform. We are delighted to provide a trial site for Traxens, which could eventually result in the improvement of operations for the whole of the shipping industry,” said Miguel Llop, director of information and communication technologies for Fundacion Valenciaport.
During a second phase of the project, Traxens aims to extend its solution to other terminals within the Port of Valencia, by deploying additional gateways. The existing gateway will then be used for testing and improving processes related to all smart containers passing through the area, the company said.
