Guam goes live with N4

News 24 Nov 2016 by WCN Editorial

The Port Authority of Guam has successfully implemented the Navis N4 TOS as part of a US$4.1M IT systems upgrade.

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The Port Authority of Guam (PAG) is in the middle of a major modernisation project that includes new equipment and systems. The US$4.1M IT component included a new computer network, the Navis N4 license and a five-year maintenance and support agreement.

PAG went live with N4 in October, shutting its in-house system down on Friday 10 October and verifying its yard inventory before switching to N4 before re-opening its gate on Monday 17 October. The first discharge operation with N4 was a Matson vessel handled on 18 October, with loading the following day. Billing was implemented over the same period.

A report from the TOS project team, which was lead by Parsons Brinckerhoff noted that while there were “the usual start-up problems” there were no major concerns with the implementation. It noted that “some trucking companies haven’t done their homework as was instructed some time ago”, resulting in some gate delays initially, and there were also issues with the quality and timeliness of EDI from shipping lines and the reliability of WiFi in the yard.

Overall the TOS go-live was declared a “job well done”, and a significant step forwards for PAG. “The new systems landscape”, noted the project report, “gives management the tools to increase efficiency, decrease costs and measure the benefits.”

General Manager Joanne Brown was equally enthusiastic: “The acquisition of Navis N4 has taken our organization to another level. The implementation of the TOS will not only improve the Port’s tariff/billing system but more importantly, it will result in a faster and more efficient movement of cargo to its final destination.”

Originally built by the US Navy, the Port of Guam is a government-owned port that serves as a transshipment hub for the Pacific, servicing the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. The port’s container traffic has grown strongly this year, rising 16% from January to the end of August to 95,970 containers, equivalent to around 177,000 TEU.

“The Port of Guam is a key gateway to ocean trade in the Pacific, and Navis is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Port Authority on the modernisation of its terminal,” said Mark Welles, VP of Japan and Asia Pacific for Navis. “As PAG is looking to implement a higher level of terminal technology, including new yard equipment and automation processes, N4 stands out in the industry as the best option available for terminals across the world.”