#Whitepaper
CONTAINER TERMINAL PLANNING – PLANNING OF PROCESSES UTILIZING AB OVO’S EXPERTISE
1. The Challenge
The current market situation of diminishing margins and tightening delivery windows has led to increased complexity in planning & scheduling processes. Therefore, the efficient use of resources is top priority. An Advanced Planning & Scheduling solution has a huge cost savings potential for planning departments, while also increasing delivery reliability and flexibility.
Ultimately, this leads to a healthier bottom line and increases competitive advantage. Container terminal activities are integral parts of the supply chain in terms of service level agreements and containers are dynamic and complex to manage. Living up to quality and performance levels is a daily challenge, both in terms of economics and in terms of planning. Performance is measured in terms of minimizing turnaround times and vessel delays.
This is tough to manage since the various services involved in the oading/unloading of vessels are interdependent; unmooring can only be started when all other services are finished, vessels can’t share the same parts of a berth, some container types (e.g., hazardous types) cannot be stored by other container types.
“The industry knowledge of Ab Ovo about planning processes in the Maritime industry was pivotal to the success of this project.”
FRIDTJOF NAESS, COO at OCEAN OPERATION2. The Puzzle
The key components of a Container Terminal plan include but are not limited to: berth planning, stockyard planning, crane planning, Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) planning, vessel planning & scheduling and workforce planning. Planning and (detailed) scheduling of Container Terminal processes is characterized by complex business logic and numerous constraints as well as production disturbances (e.g., equipment breakdown), equipment maintenance and vessel delays. This creates the need to conduct “What-if” scenarios to model different planning outcomes given the unpredictable events that planners encounter each day. As one can see, there are many components to effective and efficient Container Terminal planning.
3. The Solution
Ab Ovo specializes in solving complex planning puzzles and delivering comprehensive but user friendly solutions to greatly simplify a day in the life of a Container Terminal planner. Ab Ovo’s expertise is in modeling complex terminal business logic, including all constraints, using specialized Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) software and has developed and implemented several planning applications for different terminal types, customizing solutions to create a unique 100% fit. Ab Ovo offers planning solutions which cover the entire planning process, from strategic and long-term planning to operational planning. Especially in large and complex logistic-oriented environments, organizations gain a competitive edge by optimizing their long- and mid-term planning processes.
Key Benefits
Cost savings | Increasing delivery reliability | Healthier bottom line | Growth of competitive advantage4. The Advantage
When Ab Ovo builds a solution, they build it so that it is flexible towards the future with extensions in functionality that are easy to realize. Ab Ovo solutions are proven technology based on algorithms and analytics which deliver quick ROIs for clients due to Ab Ovo’s extensive knowledge and experience.
Ab Ovo employs a team of highly qualified consultants with extensive knowledge of both planning processes and industrial processes. Furthermore, Ab Ovo understands that the goal in today’s competitive environment is to reduce costs and tie planning decisions to clear business KPIs — creating the optimal plan based on an Ab Ovo solution not only leads to greater business value, but also to more robust planning. This means that Ab Ovo solutions create business model agility to help planners respond to disturbances.
5. The Clients
Ab Ovo has extensive experience in the Maritime and Terminal planning industries. Some of our clients include:
#BetterTogether
DELMIA Quintiq Platinum Partner
DELMIA Quintiq (part of Dassault Systèmes) is a leader in delivering state-of-the-art supply chain planning and optimization solutions that help customers reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve bottom-line results. DELMIA Quintiq and Ab Ovo have an extensive shared history. We are both innovative leaders in rail, aviation, maritime, manufacturing, retail, and logistics. Ab Ovo is one of DELMIA Quintiq’s longest-standing and most experienced partners. For more information, visit DELMIA Quintiq.