Brazil gov’t strives to implement digital platform for the Port of Santos

The Ministry of Ports and Airports is putting effort into implementing a digital platform known as the Port Community System (PCS) in the Port of Santos. The innovative project is among the ministry’s modernization and digital transformation priorities. The tool has been developed by the state university of Sao Paulo (USP) at its Institute of Software and Services Technology (ITS), with funding from the Prosperity Fund, a UK cooperation fund.

PCS has been on the port sector’s agenda for some time but is still in its early stages. The A Tribuna media outlet reported in January 2022 that the project’s budget had been reduced and that the next steps would be to complete the mapping of port processes and develop a business plan with the platform’s financial, governance, and operational models.

According to studies by the British government, the revenue needed to make the PCS economically viable was estimated at R$ 10 million per year, with a return to the port community of R$ 1 billion. For fundraising, a proposed business model divided costs among the agents in proportion to their use.

“The implementation of the PCS in Brazilian public ports is one of the priorities within the innovation theme for the new management of the Ministry of Ports and Airports. Furthermore, good global practices reinforce that adopting new technologies makes port operations more efficient, safe, and sustainable,” the ministry wrote to A Tribuna.

Also, according to the ministry, the connection between all the links in the production chain is another advantage that the digital system will provide. “After all, it is a community data exchange platform that allows the connection of multiple systems used by different organizations involved in the activity, integrating information from the entire logistics chain.”

Step by step

According to the ministry, the ports of Santos, Itajaí, Suape, and Rio de Janeiro were chosen to participate in the project supported by the British government to implement the PCS. “Mapping the main critical processes for the port community is one of the axes. On that occasion, several proposals for improvements were identified to make operations more efficient”.

On February 10, the State Secretary for International Business, Lucas Ferraz, received developers from ITS and USP to display the PCS. “Sao Paulo’s government supports the PCS’s implementation. The Secretariat for International Business should now focus on selecting the best governance model and engaging in dialogue with Santos port community agents,” informed the secretariat.

Entities highlight benefits 

In recent years, an entity that participated in meetings on the PCS was the Union of Maritime Navigation Agencies of the State of São Paulo (Sindamar). Its executive director, José Roque, pointed out that the digital platform will make import and export processes easier in Brazil, as it is a program that gathers and integrates the information and systems of those involved in maritime trade.

“There will be gains with the rapid flow of information between interested parties in the process. Such speed and productivity will reduce the ship’s permanence in the port. And this is already happening as a result of the large investments made, as well as the agility and lack of bureaucracy in the delivery of goods. The Federal Revenue is committed to reducing these lead times with the implementation of control systems and agile clearance of goods”.

Another entity that discussed the PCS was the Brazilian Association of Terminals and Customs Enclosures (Abtra), whose executive director, Angelino Caputo, recalled that the debates for the implementation of the platform in Brazil began around 2018, in the wake of initiatives for the implementation of the World Trade Facilitation Agreement, defined by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2013.

Regarding the participation of the State Government in the discussions about the platform, Caputo considers that “although it has done an excellent job in the technological part entrusted to it, USP alone would have difficulties in implementing PCS in the Port of Santos since the port, as well as the Port Authority, is under federal management.”

Source: A Tribuna

To read the original report, please go to: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/governo-federal-trabalha-para-acelerar-implantacao-de-plataforma-digital-no-porto-de-santos

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