State of the Practice of Information Technology at Marine Container Ports

Abstract

A glimpse into the state of the practice of information technology at marine container ports is provided. First, network representation is used to characterize the information process that takes place at marine container terminals. These network representations were used as a framework to analyze a survey on the state of the practice of information technology. The survey targeted a selected group of U.S. container terminals, which provided information on current practices. The first section of the survey, General Information, gathered information about the general characteristics of the terminal. The second section, Internal Activities of the Container Terminal, gathered information about the performance of the most important internal activities. The third section, Interactions Among the Parties Involved, focused on the interactions that take place among the different agents associated with either importing or exporting containers. The fourth section, About the Future, gathered the respondents' perceptions about the future of information technology. The information gathered was used to characterize current practices and to assess the level of market penetration of advanced devices such as electronic tags.