Implementation plan TPT management

Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and the global technology standard for managing the movement of cargo through terminals, today announced that Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South Africa has gone live with Navis SPARCS N4 terminal operating system (TOS) at its seventh terminal.

The first to manage multiple sites from one location in 2009, TPT now manages all of its marine terminals from a central location providing a base for long-term benefits including improved planning, increased container volumes and productivity, and improved customer service.

TPT implemented SPARCS N4 as part of a large scale investment in terminal infrastructure, including automating container handling and gate automation.

The centralized SPARCS N4 system, based at TPT’s main data centre in Durban, enables TPT to reduce overhead associated with purchasing and running multiple systems versus a single back-end system. Furthermore, TPT can now better manage and standardize customer-facing processes, and improve the customer experience through real-time access to terminal information and reduction of paper-based processes.

“Our overarching goal at TPT is to improve volumes and productivity levels, and SPARCS N4 is certainly an enabling factor in allowing us to work more efficiently and in an integrated manner, ” said Mark Wootton, Executive Manager, ICT at Transnet.

“Once the last site in Durban gets through its current stabilization phase, our customers will continue to realize the benefits of our multi-site management, including real-time information and streamlined operations, ” Mr Wootton added.

SPARCS N4 is the next generation TOS designed to grow with the customer at the lowest possible total cost of ownership. It allows customers the flexibility and scalability they need to run their operations - from a single terminal to multiple terminals across multiple geographic locations, all within a single instance. With SPARCS N4, Transnet will be able to continuously adapt the technology to work with its future operations.

Looking ahead, TPT will focus efforts on extending SPARCS N4 into Transnet’s rail operations, allowing for better integration between rail and port operations. The first rail terminal is currently planned to go live in 2012, followed by approximately 13 other rail terminals across South Africa. Transnet is also considering introducing some of Navis’ advanced modules, including Navis AutoStow and Navis Prime Route.