Secure and Efficient Intermodal Transports – Port Pilot Project in the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden

Increasing security in transports without negatively affecting the logistical flow makes efficiency a critical factor. To achieve a viable end-to-end security solution in a supply chain, with complex network of dependencies, requires a holistic perspective. The pilot project was driven by Volvo Technology and it involved important stakeholders in the supply chain and port domain focusing on the Port of Gothenburg. The project results show increased security and efficiency through for example faster passages in and out of ports as well as electronic handling of documents. This leads to the possibility of focusing on value adding activities like transportation of goods, as intended, instead of waiting time in ports. The world’s seaborne container traffic carries approximately 80 % of the world trade but its current security level does not reflect its importance for society. Millions of containers flow through ports and only a fraction of them are ever scrutinized. Security threats towards critical societal infrastructures, e.g. international ports, have resulted in several security and supply chain initiatives. So far, these initiatives mainly focus on nodes like ports and terminals. Nevertheless, in order to secure the entire supply chain and attain end-to-end security, the security of goods while in-transit needs to be ensured as well, achieving secure links. At the same time, several ports suffer from congestion and are in urgent need of procedures and technologies to increase the through-put speed of goods.