PSA Antwerp Boosts Management Efficiency With Business Intelligence

A ship arrives in port, is loaded with cargo, and shoves off. In the interval, terminal operators make multiple decisions to coordinate loading activities, allocate resources, and optimize the handling of each type of cargo. Making the right decisions in a timely fashion is what determines the success of the venture.

"Within the fixed time-span of a ship docking and leaving port, many decisions must be made that impact the profitability of the operation," confirms Paul Verbraeken, Manager of Informatics at PSA Antwerp, formerly Hesse-Noord Natie, a major terminal operator in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. "What is the commodity mix? What are the quantities of each type of cargo? Is the ship loaded, unloaded or in process? On which quay is the ship? Are all of the necessary permits available?"

To handle the cargo on board vessels, terminal operators such as PSA Antwerp effectively act as external stevedores – people or organizations that specialize in the loading and unloading of ships. PSA Antwerp operates terminals for general or "break bulk" cargo as well as for roll-on/roll-off cargo housed in large containers or cars. As many as 2,000 cars can be loaded onto a ship, making this a substantial aspect of its business. Managers need to know the status of each car at all times in order to effectively coordinate workers, allocate labor, and minimize docking charges. The same business dynamics apply to break-bulk cargo as well.

Keeping the Business Afloat

Combined with its terminals in Zeebrugge, Belgium, PSA Antwerp realizes annual revenue of 54 million euros, making it the largest operation in Antwerp Harbor. As one of the top 10 harbors in the world, Antwerp offers the widest choice of services of all European ports. It claims 4.8 million square meters of warehousing space, far more than any other European port. However, despite its premiere position, terminal operators aren't content to drop anchor on innovation.

"Although we are the biggest terminal operator, there is a great deal of pressure for us to improve productivity," says Verbraeken. "Antwerp competes against Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Having the best logistics, planning techniques, and equipment is what gives us a competitive edge."

To improve its ability to compete, PSA Antwerp is relying on WebFOCUS software from Information Builders to obtain real-time access to the information that continually impacts its business. "We needed reporting software that could give us complete and accurate management information," says Verbraeken. "We looked for a software product that could retrieve data from different databases and combine the information into useful reports. The only product that could handle this easily was Information Builders' WebFOCUS."

Charting a New Course

Obtaining intelligent information to monitor and improve port operations has always been a big challenge, especially for the break-bulk portion of PSA Antwerp's business, which is less prone to automation and involves many variables. Labor costs are particularly important for this type of cargo, especially for goods such as fruit and sugar, which typically require individual handling.

In a tradition that extends back to the old seafaring days, port operators and ship owners hire gangs from a docker's pool on a day-to-day basis. But today's port operators face additional requirements and responsibilities. For example, any accidents that occur during a day's work must be recorded and dealt with immediately, and terminal operators must maintain up-to-date health and accident insurance to cover claims and losses.

"Insurance costs can be significant, and if incidents are not tracked and managed carefully they can have a decisive impact on the profitably of turning around a ship," says Verbraeken. "That's why we need accurate business intelligence reports from our information system. A reporting product such as WebFOCUS adds a lot of value to the business process by revealing important events and trends as they occur."

Setting Sail With WebFOCUS

Given the magnitude and diversity of PSA Antwerp's operation, an up-to-date IT infrastructure is a prerequisite for doing business. The company relies on a custom application called the Container Terminal Control System (CTCS) to handle container-terminal management, plant maintenance, accounting and many other activities related to its containers, roll on/roll off cargo, and break-bulk cargo. CTCS is deployed on an IBM AS/400 computer, and generates a large quantity of valuable data on all facets of PSA Antwerp's operation.

Verbraeken and his team used the WebFOCUS software to create more than 300 reports from the CTCS, giving managers a current representation of each facet of the operation. At the heart of WebFOCUS environment is a high-powered reporting engine called WebFOCUS Reporting Server that can natively access more than 85 data sources on 35 computing platforms – including native access to the IBM DB2/400 databases underlying CTCS.

According to Verbraeken, WebFOCUS is easy for non-technical users to learn and understand, minimizing the company's reliance on online analytical processing (OLAP) tools. Managers use the menu-driven reporting application not only to view canned reports, but also to submit real-time queries to interact with live data. This helps terminal operators make decisions that optimize the loading and unloading of cargo. "WebFOCUS gives us the ability to develop and deploy all types of reports via a Web-based interface," he says. "The software is very flexible, and it works with many different data types over a broad range of platforms."

Buoyed By Success

Initially, WebFOCUS was installed on a backup server that mirrored and consolidated data from different port terminals, together with the company's administration database. It is now being extended to run on-site at each terminal. This architecture will enable the company to deliver high-level financial and business reports for its new owner, the Port of Singapore, which holds an 80 percent share in PSA Antwerp's organization.

In the future, Verbraeken sees the WebFOCUS reporting application evolving in several directions. For example, with increased dependence on daily work gangs, human resources (HR) managers could use WebFOCUS to obtain information relating to accident claims and insurance. "As a management self-service tool the system holds a lot of promise," he says. "By pressing a button, many relevant operational reports can be obtained."

Financial managers can also benefit by obtaining accurate profit/cost statements a day after a job finishes, instead of the month it takes now. "My goal is to have a nearly real-time reporting system that gives us a daily cost accounting on the state of each project," Verbraeken concludes. "We have created a reporting environment that can be easily extended to many types of business needs and requirements."