The Port Authority of the Bay of Cadiz (APBC) advances in its digitalization strategy with the signature of the contract of awarding to the company EMETEL SISTEMAS, S.L. for the development and implementation of the Director Plan of Technology, within the framework of digitalization of processes and services undertaken by the organization to favor its competitiveness and efficiency.
The project had been affected by the paralysis of the contracting procedures due to the state of alarm in a first stage, but it could be resumed from the RD 15/2020, giving this same week a definitive step with the signature of the contract that will allow to initiate in an imminent way the implementation of the plan.
The tender budget of 4.2 million euros and a multi-year development of 4 years, is part of the strategy that from the direction of the Port Authority is developing to face the future with the maximum guarantees, since important works of infrastructures are being executed, at the same time that it is betting on the decarbonization, the search of new lines of business and the digitalization, to offer the best services based on the pillars of the technology and the talent of the people.
In this sense, technology applied to sustainability, environment and energy efficiency will acquire special relevance in the implementation of the plan, with the identification of projects that will have an impact on the improvement of water quality, environmental measurements and energy efficiency, among others. Priority will also be given to projects related to security and port operations.
In total, 68 investment projects and 3 support services (cybersecurity, consultancy and technical office) will be carried out over the next 4 years. In addition to improving the processes and services of the Port Authority itself, these projects will consider the impact and influence on people and companies, taking into account the awareness and involvement of all the actors involved, both internal and external, which is essential to achieve the expected results.
The challenge of digitalisation is shared by the port authority and the operators and terminals, which have to use and apply new technologies to digitalise their business processes, not only on their own to achieve the objective of the Intelligent Port (Port 4.0), but also to integrate it into a more general concept of Logistics 4.0.
To this end, the Port of Cadiz Bay has recently developed its own initiatives in this sense, such as the development of the aforementioned Technology Master Plan, carried out with the participation and collaboration of all the units of the organization, and the implementation within its technological infrastructure of a SMART platform, in which all the projects of this plan can be integrated with the aim of bringing together all the processes and services of the organization under a holistic vision that allows the generation of knowledge and business intelligence from information through the consolidation of data from all of them. The technological development foreseen in the Digitalisation Plan is especially aimed at improving all the processes and services of the Port Authority, with evident repercussions in the Port Community, focused from two points of view. For the administrative aspects, strengthening the development and application of the concepts and services of the Electronic Administration, which in many cases are compulsory. And for the operational aspects, highlighting the need for simplification and optimisation of projects, processes and services, as well as the integration between them, for the improvement of logistics favouring a collaborative economy in the transport chain.