what is port logistics ?

Maritime commercial traffic is an important lever for economic prosperity and international influence. The management of millions of tons of goods per year, however, requires high-level expertise.

Port logistics

Maritime and port logistics are, today, a key element for the rationalization and efficiency of major commercial flows. It is based both on the implementation of complex techniques and machinery and the support of a specialized workforce. These tools and know-how must, moreover, be articulated harmoniously over vast port zones, also called industrial-port zones, often extending over several thousand hectares.

What are the main characteristics of port logistics? Which professionals ensure it on a daily basis? The complete point with XP LOG.

Definition of port logistics

Maritime and port logistics encompasses all the strategic and operational means put in place to optimize intermodal functions in the port chain. Its objective is to speed up the operations carried out at a port and make them more efficient, with the aim of financial profitability.

Port logistics integrates two complementary aspects: handling and warehousing.

Port handling

Port handling (or "stevedoring") refers to the various loading and unloading operations of merchant ships in major seaports. Goods taken into account include both shipping containers, pallets and bulk products or materials.

The cargo container handling system today relies on various mechanical equipment, including:

• Trailer storage;
• Heavy forklifts for containers;
• Horse carriers for certain pallet formats;
• Cranes and gantries for the transhipment of goods;
• The hoppers for the evacuation of bulk materials...
• It is also necessary to distinguish between two forms of handling:

Vertical handling consists of lifting the containers to load or unload the ship, over the rail. This part of the work has experienced the most form of mechanization in recent decades, using the various lifting devices mentioned above.

Horizontal handling involves moving goods on ships. This includes their "mooring" of the goods, that is to say their securing by the use of bars and straps. At the end of the journey, the dockers are also responsible for undocking these same goods in transit.

Towards standardization of port handling standards

Port transit is now facilitated and optimized by the standardization of certain standards on an international scale. In particular, this makes it possible to unify procedures in all of the world's seaports.

Goods containers, for example, have been the subject of ISO standards relating to the dimensions of the units and the format of the "corner pieces", intended to facilitate gripping by lifting machinery.

Port storage

Warehousing includes all the areas dedicated to the storage of goods in the port area.

Different areas are often provided depending on the storage duration. Storage in transit, or crossdocking, concerns goods stored for a short period of time, awaiting loading. In this context, the goods arrive at the port and leave almost immediately for their final destination.

Transit storage areas are essential for multiple reasons. They allow, in particular:

• Declutter the docks or storage areas as quickly as possible;
• To collect import taxes;
• To facilitate the performance of customs inspections and visits;
• Not to delay the rotation of ships in the port.

Long-term storage, as far as it is concerned, concerns goods that have been immobilized for longer, for example, within the framework of customs regulations. It has greatly developed and today represents up to 30 or 40% of seaport revenues.

Who is in charge of port logistics?

The logistics operations of the major seaports are carried out mainly by port handling companies employing specialized dockworkers. The latter can provide several complementary functions or trades, including:

• Workers ;
• crane operators;
• Handlers.

They are the only ones authorized for the logistics of boat cargoes, this task cannot be carried out in particular by the crew members. Seaport dockworkers can be hired under an open-ended or fixed-term employment contract. In this case, it is then an occasional workforce solicited according to the volume of activity and the availability of the usual teams.

These personnel ensure the smooth running of container loading and unloading operations. They have the technical expertise essential to the efficiency and safety of operations. They are also responsible for transporting goods from one point to another on the quay.

The functions of dockworkers are carried out almost exclusively by men insofar as the work remains physical, despite increasing mechanization. A certain arduousness remains indeed for the realization of various tasks related to port handling, such as:

• The “stuffing” and “stripping” of goods, consisting of filling or emptying containers of their goods;
• Securing and unstoring cargo on ships is essential to the safety of crews on the high seas.

What are the advantages of efficient port logistics?

The quality and efficiency of logistics is a fundamental determinant for the profitability of a seaport, but also for its long-term attractiveness. With good logistics:

• No wasted time delivering containers to customers;
• No misplaced containers in a large port area
• No damaged containers as a result of handling errors;
• No loss of time for ships or trucks;
• No loss of money for operators.

Efficient and responsive maritime logistics therefore make a powerful contribution to the efficiency of trade for the international transport of goods. The rise in power of major European seaports such as Rotterdam is certainly explained by a privileged geographical position, but also by the recognized performance of infrastructures, port services and personnel.

Port logistics relies on both increasingly complex mechanics and significant human expertise. The attractiveness of a major seaport today depends on its ability to ensure rapid and efficient handling of goods in transit.

XP LOG offers a wide range of logistics solutions from the industrial port area of ​​Le Havre. Do not hesitate to contact us to benefit from a service finely adapted to your needs in terms of transporting goods.

Maritime commercial traffic is an important lever for economic prosperity and international influence. The management of millions of tons of goods per year, however, requires high-level expertise.