Sharing Procedure Status Information on Ocean Containers across Countries Using Port Community Systems with Decentralized Architecture

Abstract

Consignors, consignees, and freight forwarders need procedure status information on import and export containers, such as customs clearance, not only within a specific country but also across relevant countries in order to optimize supply chain management. In this paper, we review the current situation and literature on the sharing of procedure status information using IT systems. After clarifying issues in this regard, we present an IT system we have developed for sharing procedure status information in real time among Port Community Systems across countries. Finally, we discuss the issues and prospects in the development of the IT system. We conclude that, at present, it is beneficial to apply a decentralized system architecture in the sharing of procedure status information across countries without attaching any additional devices such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.