波士顿咨询-港口正在规模化应用人工智能 其发挥价值 Ports Are Scaling AI. Heres How to Make It Deliver

SHIPPINGINDUSTRYANDMARINEPORTS

PortsAreScalingAI.

Here'sHowtoMakeItDeliver.

ByDavidParlongue,JohannesDistler,JamesReynolds,MaxMuhlemeyer,NorbertKlettner,BorisWenzel,andDorotaKorenkiewicz

ARTICLEOCTOBER20,202615MINREAD

ThisarticleisacollaborationbetweenBCGandtheTerminalIndustryCommittee4.0(TIC4.0).

Portsandterminalsarenostrangerstoreinvention.Overthepast50years,theindustryhas

managedandadaptedtotheshifttocontainerizationandever-largervessels,themovefrom

papermanifeststoelectronicmessagingandtransactions,andthesubsequentevolutionto

system-to-systemintegrationwithotherpartiesintheshippingindustries.Butmanyport

functionsstillrunonclipboards,radiocalls,orthegutinstinctsofaplanner,whohaswatchedthe

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yardfillupandemptythousandsoftimes.Thatismostvisibleatsmallerterminalsandinbulkports.

AI

isthenextwave,andthistimeitreachestheclipboard.Itarrivesaspressurebuildsfrom

beyondthedocks.Thefreightforwarders,

logistics

providers,andcontainerlinersthatarea

terminal’scustomersareamongthecompaniesnowinvestingheavilyinAI,withspendingacrossindustriesexpectedtoincreaseovertime.

Toassesshowfartheindustryhascome,BCGandTIC4.0(aninternationalnonprofitassociationofterminaloperatorsandequipmentandsolutionprovidersdedicatedtothecreationand

promotionofdigitalstandardsforthecargo-handlingindustry)surveyedmorethan100leaders

fromacrossthecontainerportsandterminalsecosystem.(Seethesidebar,“Survey

Demographics.”)AIisnolongeranexperimentattheedgeofthebusiness.Onaverage,thosewesurveyedarealreadyusingorexploringthetop16ofthe43usecasesweassessed,from

extractingdatafromshippingdocuments(62%)topredictingwhenacraneorstraddlecarrierwillfail(48%).

SurveyDemographics

InAugust2026,BCGandtheTerminalIndustryCommittee4.0(TIC4.0)surveyed

theportandterminalecosystemontheadoptionofAIandgenerativeAI,to

establishwheretheindustryseestheopportunityandwhereitseestherisk.

Respondentswere103expertsacrossfivecontinents,drawnfromterminal

operators,portauthorities,containerliners,andportvendors.Theyoperateat

regional,national,andglobalscale,andtheircompaniesarebalancedacross

small(lessthan$1billioninrevenue),midsize($1billionto$8billion),andlarge

(morethan$8billion).

ThedecisiontoadoptAIhasbeenlargelymadeacrosstheindustry.Whatitisworthhasnotbeensettled.Theworknowistoprovewhatitdelivers,andtodoitfasterthanthecompetition.Five

findingsfromoursurveyshowwheretheindustrystands:

Adoptionisbroad,butproofisrare.Respondentsarefindingandtestingusecasesfar

fasterthantheyaremeasuringwhatthoseusecasesreturn,andonly4%canshowagainin

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earnings.

Unclearreturnoninvestmentisthemainbarriertoacceleratingimplementation,andthedoubtrunsdeeperthefurtheryougetfromtheC-suite.Othersignificantbarriersare

concernsaboutdataqualityandtalent.

Thedemandcomesfromcommercialcustomers,butthegainsstayoperational.

CustomersareaskingforAI-enabledservices,whilerespondentsreportkeepingnearlyallofthebenefitsinsidetheirownoperations.

TheexpectedpayoffisshiftingfrombuildingAItousingit.Respondentsexpectthenextthreeyearsofbenefittocomefromforecasting,dispatch,andworkflowintegrationratherthanfromplatformsandgovernance.

Investmentisgoingintopeopleandexistingsystems.ThatincludeshiringandtrainingAItalent,reskillingthecurrentworkforce,andaddingAItowhatisalreadyinstalled.

Together,thosefindingspointtofourmoves:provevaluebeforeyouscale,fixthefoundations

enterprise-wide,shiftspendingfromsetuptooperations,andcodevelopthecommercialupside.

AdoptionIsBroad,butProofIsRare

Nearlyhalf(44%)ofrespondentshavemovedbeyondearlytestingintoscalingoralaterstage,andsizehelps.Amongthelargestcompaniesinthesample,thosewithmorethan$8billioninrevenue,56%reportedscalingorbeyond,versus32%ofthosebelow$1billion.(SeeExhibit1.)

EXHIBIT1

AIAdoptionIsWidespread,butFewOperatorsAreStillin

TestingMode

Reportedactivityisapproachingscale

ReportedstageofAladoption

%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,SINGLERESPONSE,N=103

Increasingmaturity

NotconsideringAl,

ornoconcretestepsyet

Exploring;testing

withlimitedscopel Usecasesidentified; planningforscale Scalingwithearly measurablebenefitSystematicallytrackingcontribution

Embeddedincoreoperations;P&Limpact

23

33

11

Scalingorbeyond:44%ofrespondents

Largecompaniesarealmosttwiceaslikelytohavereachedscale

Reachingscalingorbeyond,bycompanyturnover%WITHINEACHTURNOVERBAND

<$1billion$1billion-$8billion>58billion

Source:BCG'sAlinPortsandTerminalsindustrysurvey,2026.

Note:n=103.Adoptionstageisbasedonasingleresponseperparticipant.

Activity,however,doesnotalwayscreatevalue.Only11%ofrespondentstrackwhatAl

contributestoefficiencyormargininanysystematicway,andjust4%haveembeddeditincoreoperationsandcanpointtoameasurablegaininearnings.Alisatworkinsidethegate,intheyard,andinthebackoffice,butalmostnowhereisitscontributionbeingmeasured.

UnclearROIIstheMain

Challenge,andtheDoubtGrowSBeyondtheC-Suite

Unclearreturnoninvestmentisthebarriernamedmostoften,citedby41%ofrespondents.Itsitswellaheadofdataqualityat32%,systemsintegrationat30%,andbothexecutionalcertaintyandimplementationcostat28%each.Inshort,whatholdsAlbackisdoubtaboutwhetheritwillpayoff.

Thatdoubtisnotspreadevenlyanddependsonwhereyousit.Only21%ofC-suiterespondentsnamedunclearROlasabarrier,butbelowtheC-suite,thefigurejumpedto44%.Thesamedivideshowsuponcost,wherejust14%ofseniorleaderspointedtoimplementationcost,versus30%ofeveryoneelse.(SeeExhibit2.)C-suiteenthusiasmhastobematchedbyapragmatic

implementationplanatthebusiness-unitlevel,withfullcosttransparencyforthemanagerswhowillbeaskedtodelivertheresult.

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EXHIBIT2

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UnclearROIIstheLeadingBarriertoAdoption,butConcernsDiffer

byEmployeeSeniority

BarriersreportedbyC-suiteandallotherlevels

(%WITHINEACHGROUP)

30

21

Implementation

cost

BusinesscasebarriersTechnicalbarriers

C-suite(14)■Allotherlevels(89)

C-suiterespondentscouplescalingmorecloselywithprovenvalue

(%WITHINEACHGROUP)

45

362926

AtscalingstageorbeyondValueprovenforselectcases

BarriersreportedaspreventingwideradoptionofAl

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,

UPTOTHREESELECTIONSEACH)

UnclearROIorbusinesscase

Standardizeddataqualityoraccess32

Integrationwithexistingsystems30

Executionalcertainty;governance28

Implementationcostorbudget

Trustorexplainabilityofresults25

Internalexpertiseortalent23

Complexityofoperations21

Resistancetochange;ownership

Trainingorreskilling

Lowcustomerdemand

Other

3629

DataqualitySystems

oraccessintegration

UnclearROI

Source:BCG'sAlinPortsandTerminalsindustrysurvey,2026.

Note:n=103.Barrierpercentagesreflecttheshareofrespondentsnamingeachitemamongthirtopthree,sopercentagesdonotsumto100%.C-suitecomparisonsare

directional:theC-suitebaseis14,versus89non-C-suiterespondents.Scalingstageandprovenvalueareseparatemeasures.

ThisdifferentiatedpointofviewonAlfeasibilitymatters,asbudgetsareapprovedatthetop,

pilotsarerunbelow,andpilotsscaleonlywherethetwoagree.Whenthemanagerclosesttotheworkstilldoubtsthepayoff,theteststalls.YetC-suiterespondentsdescribeprovenvalueat

muchthesamerateaseveryoneelse,29%versus26%.Theopenquestioniswhatcountsasacrediblebusinesscase.

Standardizeddataqualityisthesecond-most-citedbarrier;roughlyathirdofrespondentspointedtodataqualityandaccessasconstraints.ThiscomesasnosurprisegiventhatAlcanonlybeasgoodastheinformationitrunson.Theconstraintisnotonlytechnical.Withoutshareddefinitionsandsemantics,Alcantreattwomeasuresthatlookcomparableasiftheymeanthesamethingwhentheydonotanddrawmisleadingconclusionsfromthem.Today,muchofthatinformation

stillsitsinfragmented,disconnectedsystems.

Our2025digitalbenchmarkwithTIC4.0sawthesameproblemfromanotherangle.Mostdigitalroadmapsarestilldrawnterminalbyterminal,withnowidelyadoptedstandards,eveninsidetheglobalandmultinationalgroupsthatoperatemanyterminals.Thesamebenchmarkfound

cybersecurityconcernsslowingtheadoptionofadvancedplanningtoolsthatreachacross

organizations,berthplanningamongthem.Incriticalinfrastructure,securityandsafetyarepartofthefoundationratherthanadditionstoit.

Talentisanotherbarrier.Roughlyaquarterofrespondentscitedlimitedin-houseexpertise,withsmallersharesnamingresistancetochangeandalackoftraining.ThepeoplewhocanrunAl

wellremainthinontheground.Neitherbarrierisareasontowait.Botharereasonstobuildthefoundationfirst,inthedatathatAIrunsonandintheknow-howofthepeoplewhowillmanageit.

TheDemandIsCommercial,buttheGainsStayOperational

Thepullcomesfromcustomers,notregulators.Askedwhichcustomersandpartnersare

requestingAI-enabledservices,respondentsnamedfreightforwardersmostoften(61%),followedbythird-partylogisticsproviders(58%)andcontainerliners(52%),whichlikelyreflectswhattheirowncustomers,thecargoowners,expectofthem.Thattrackswiththewidershiftacrosslogistics,wherecustomersnowpulladoptionmorethancompaniespushitfrominside.AsforwardersandlinersbuildAIintotheirownoperations,theyexpecttheterminaltokeeppace.

Respondents’ownreasonsforadoptingAIpointthesameway.Askedwhatmotivatedthem,69%namedcostreductionandefficiencyand47%citedcompetitivepressure.Regulatoryorderscamelast,at1%.Portauthoritiesdofigureasasourceofdemand,namedby35%,butthisshiftisledbythemarket,notbycompliance.

Yetthevaluethatrespondentsreportisalmostentirelyoperational.Operationalefficiencyleadsthebenefitsrealizedorexpected,at74%,withfasterdecisionmakingat44%andcostreductionat41%.

Abetter

customerexperience

reachesonly18%.(SeeExhibit3.)CustomersarethestakeholdersthatarepullinghardestforAI,andtheonebenefitthatwouldservethemdirectlyistheonethatisleastreported.That18%isopenground.Thosethatturncommercialdemandintocommercialvaluewillpullaheadofthosethatkeepeverygaininsidethefence.

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EXHIBIT3

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PortsFacetheStrongestAIPullfromCommercialStakeholders,

WhileReportedValueIsConcentratedinOperationPerformance

CustomersmostfrequentlyrequestingAl-enabledservices

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,

UPTOTHREESELECTIONSEACH)

BenefitsalreadyrealizedorexpectedfromAl

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,

UPTOTHREESELECTIONSEACH)

Customerpull

Increasedoperational

58

CostreductionImproved

35

19

12

Nongovernmental

Compliance-leddemandremainslimited

Source:BCG'sAlinPortsandTerminalsindustrysurvey,2026.

Note:n=103.Respondentsnameduptothreerequestingstakeholdersanduptothreebenefits,sopercentagesdonotsumto100%.Benefitsarereportedorexpectedoutcomesnotindependentlymeasuredperformance.

Freightforwarders

Logisticssuppliers(3PLs)

Containerliners

Portauthorities

Truckingcarriers

Customsauthorities

servicereliability

Betterdemandand

capacityplanning

Enhancedcustomer

experience

Improvedsustainability

performanceNotangiblebenefitsyet

efficiencyFasterdecisionmaking

Operationalperformancebenefits

organizations

18

ThePayoffIsShiftingfromBuildingAItoUsingIt

AskedwheretheyexpectAltodeliverthemostbenefitoverthenextthreeyears,respondents

pointedawayfromsettingupAlandtowardusingiteveryday.Sevenofthe43usecaseswere

residual"other"optionsandwereexcludedfromthiscomparison.Oftheremaining36,

respondentsnamed26moreoftenasareasofexpectedfuturebenefitthanasareasinusetoday,4wereunchanged,and6wereexpectedtodecreaseinrelevance.(SeeExhibit4.)Thebiggest

gainsforeseenareinrunningtheterminal.

EXHIBIT4

AIInvestmentIsNearlyUniversal,withCapabilityBuildingand

ReskillingTakingPriority

InvestmentisfocusedonbuildingAlcapabilities

PlannedAlinvestmentoverthenext12-24months

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,MULTIPLESELECTIONS)

HiringortrainingAltalent

IncreasingR&Dor

innovationbudgets

GenAImodulesin

existingsystems

Partneringwithtechnologyproviders

Industrycollaborations;

Noplannedinvestments

Capabilitybuilding■Deploymentandcollaboration

datasharing26

Reskillingandredeploymentleadexpectedworkforceeffects

ExpectedeffectofAlontheworkforceoverthreeyears

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,SINGLERESPONSE)

Reskillorredeployexistingstaf

Reduceheadcount

throughautomation

Increasetotalheadcount

Nomajorimpactexpected

31

Source:BCG'sAlinPortsandTerminalsindustrysurvey,2026.

Note:n=103.Investmentprioritiesallowmultipleselections(sosharessumtomorethan100%),whileexpectedworkforceimpactisbasedonasinglerespnse,Investmentfiguresrepresentstatedintentionsoverthenext12-24months,notcommittedbudgets.

Forecastingoperationalstatesandtheirrootcausesrisesfrom49%todayto67%inexpected

benefit,andintegratingAlintodailyworkflowsclimbsfrom60%to74%,themost-namedusecaseforfuturevalue.Real-timeequipmentdispatch,predictivemaintenance,andvision-basedcargosafetymonitoringadvancealongsidethem.Sodothetwousecasesthatfacethecustomermostdirectly:answeringterminalstatusqueriesrisesfrom25%to43%,andmessagingfreight

forwardersfrom39%to55%.Theindustrymaynotyetbecapturingthecommercialupside,butitcanseewherethefuturelies.

Ourdigitalbenchmarktracedthesameprogressionintheyard,whererule-basedsystemsare

givingwaytopredictivetools.Dwell-timeforecastingestimateshowlongeachcontainerwillsitbeforeitmoves,andsmartstackingusesthatestimatetodecidewheretoplaceit,sotheboxesleavingsoonestarenotundertheonesstayinglongest.Aliscarryingthatprogressionintoeverycorneroftheoperation.

Whatrecedesisthebehind-the-sceneswork.Internalgovernancefallsfrom51%to37%,and

internalplatformbuildingfrom56%to50%.Bothstillmatter,butleadersincreasinglytreatthemasgroundwork.Thewindowforwinningonplatformbuildingaloneisclosing,andtheadvantageisshiftingtooperatorsthatcanembedAlintheworkflowsthatmovecargo.

TheMoneyIsGoingintoPeopleandExistingSystems

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Investmentisclosetouniversal.Amongtherespondentstooursurvey,investmentisclosetouniversalwithonly2%ofrespondentsreportingnoplannedAlspending,thoughthesample

leanstowardlargeandglobalplayers,soinvestmentislesslikelyuniversalacrosstheindustryasawhole.HiringandtrainingAltalentleadsat59%,followedbyR&Dbudgetsat55%and

addingAlmodulestoexistingsystemsat47%.(SeeExhibit5.)

EXHIBIT5

AIAttentionIsShiftingfromFoundationalEnablersTowardOperationalApplications

Operationalapplications

Foundationalactivities

Tenlargestshiftsfromcurrentusetoexpectedfuturebenefit

Lowerorstagnatingrelevanceofappication

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTSNAMING

EACHAPPLICATION)

Forecastingstates;

rootcauses49e

Answeringterminal

statusqueries25e→43

Messagingto

freightforwarders39→55

IntegratingGenAl

60e→74

29e→43

intoworkflows

Digitalpayments

processing

elect36e→

49

30e→

48e→

43

60

Aligningcustoms

inspections

Real-timeequipment

dispatching

Predicting

60

equipmentfailures48

49

Vision-basedcargosafetymonitoring

40

020

67

●61

6080

+18pp

+17pp

+17pp

+14pp

+14pp

+13pp

+13pp

+13pp

+13pp

+13pp

(%OFTOTALRESPONDENTS,SAMESCALE

ASTHELEFTPANEL)

Receding

Settingupinternal

governance

Licensingpublic

LLMmodels

Buildingan

internalplatform

Extractingdata

fromdocuments

Reskillngand

enablingstaffImageexchange

withhaulers

Remainunchanged

Preparingterminal

data,standard

Livechatand

voiceinterfaces

Proactive

customerupdates

Personnel

selectionbyvessel

0

37e51

27C135

50e56

58e62

50e5241C44

●65

●49

-15pp

-8pp

-7pp

-4pp

-3pp

-3pp

Opp

Opp

Opp

Opp

●41

●20

20

406080

Appliedorexploredtoday●Expectedtobenefitmostinthreeyears

Governance,public-modellicensingandplatform

build-outloserelativeemphasis,whilefoundationaldata

preparationremainshighlyrelevant

Forecasting,terminal-statusqueriesand

operationalworkflowintegrationshowthelargest

shiftstowardfuturebenefit

Source:BCG'sAlinPortsandTerminalsindustrysurvey,2026.

Note;n=103;p=percentagepoint.Numbersrefectrounding.Curentactivityandexpectedfuturebeneitwereasessedacrossthesame43aplications;sevenresidual"other"optionswerethenexcluded.Oftheremaining36applicatons,26showhigherexpectedfuturerelevance,6showlower,and4reunchanged.Leftpanelshowsthetenlargestpositiveshits(-13p);aditionalaplicationswithsallesitsbutexpectedfuturebenefitaboe50%includecargopickupwindows/truckapointments,yardandberthplanning,documentprocessing,customsdocumentation,patterndetection,andpricing/revenuemanagement.

Thepatternistelling.Respondentsarebuyingcapabilityandbuildingonwhattheyalreadyown,ratherthanreplacingit.

Theworkforcequestionrunsdeeperthananybudgetline.HalfofrespondentsexpectAlto

reshaperolesthroughreskillingorredeployment,13%expectnewrolesrequiringnewskills,and31%expectlowerworkforcedemandasAlautomatesprocessesanddecisions.

Here,too,theviewdependsonseniority.Just14%ofC-suiterespondentsexpectheadcountreduction,against34%ofrespondentsatotherlevels.Thatgapisareasonforleaderstosayplainlywhattheyintend.

Theautomationinthat31%isAIautomatingprocessesanddecisions,notthemachinesthat

movecargo.Equipmentautomationisaseparatequestion.Itreplacesphysicalworkattheship’ssideandintheyard,andourbenchmarkrankeditlastamongthedigitalcapabilitiesitassessed,heldbackasmuchbylaboragreementsandcommunityresistanceasbycapitalcost.Thosethatleadtheworkforceshiftwiththeirpeoplewillmovefasterthanthosethatmanageitasa

message.

FourMovesLeadersCanMake

BCG’sworkonAIestimatesthat10%ofthevaluecreationcomesfromalgorithms,20%from

technologyanddata,and70%fromhavingtherighttrainingandprocessesinplace.Whatthis

surveydescribessitsmostlyinthat70%.Thesefindingspointtofourmoves,intwostages.The

firststageanswersthedoubtaboutreturnandthegapsindataandskills,anditasksleaderstoprovevaluebeforetheyscaleandtofixthefoundationsenterprise-wideratherthanterminalbyterminal.Thesecondstagefollowsthepayofftowhereoperatorsandtheircustomerscanseeit,shiftingspendingfromsetuptooperations,andcodevelopingthecommercialupsidewiththe

customersalreadyaskingforit.Theordermatters,becauseanoperatorthatcannotproveausecasepays,orcannotgetatcleandata,willnotgetfarwiththesecondstage.

Provevaluebeforeyouscale.Withunclearreturnsthemost-citedchallenge,leadersshould

agreeupfront,foreverypilot,onthebaselinetheyaremeasuringagainst,theimprovementtheyexpect,thetimelinetheyexpectitin,and,aboveall,thesinglepersonwhoownstheoutcome.

Theyshouldagree,too,onwhatprovenreturnwilllooklikebeforethebusinesscasemoves

upward,sincemuchofthegapbetweentheC-suiteandthefrontlineisadifferenceindefinitions.Stagetherollout,withagoorno-godecisionateachstep,testtheriskiestelementfirst,andscaleonlyoncethevalueisshown.Evidenceiswhatwinsoveraskepticalmanager.

Fixthefoundationsenterprise-wide.Dataqualityisthenextbarrier,soleadersshouldtreatdataassharedinfrastructureratherthanaseriesoflocalpatches.Investingacrosstheenterprisein

dataquality,access,andintegrationwillunlockmorevaluethananysingleusecase,becausepiecemealfixestendtomovethebottleneckratherthanremoveit.

Aportisanetworkofvariousstakeholders,suchasauthorities,terminals,liners,truckers,and

depots,anddatathatstopsattheterminalgatestopscreatingvaluetheretoo.Commonindustrydatastandardsarehowsystemslearntotalktooneanother.Aquarterofrespondentsalready

plantojoinindustrycollaborationsordata-sharinginitiativesoverthenexttwoyears,andthesharedsemanticsanddatamodelsthatTIC4.0isdevelopingandpromotinggivethatintent

somewheretoland.

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Shiftspendingfromsetuptooperations.Operatorsalreadyexpectthenextthreeyearsofbenefittocomefromrunningtheterminal.Putresourcesbehindoperationalforecasting,

workflowintegration,andreal-timedispatch,theareaswiththeclearestgrowthinexpectedbenefit.Thenbackthemwithpeople.SayplainlywhatAIwillmeanforrolesandfundthe

reskillingbeforetheredeployment.

Codevelopthecommercialupside.The18%customerexperiencefigureisaninvitation.Work

directlywiththeforwarders,logisticsproviders,andlinersthatarealreadyaskingforAIandbuildtheservicestheywant,suchascargovisibility,proactiveupdates,fasterdocumentation,andmorereliableservice.

Theindustryhasdonethisbefore.Sincethemid-2000s,portsstartedtousevehicle-booking

systems,sharplycuttingtruckturntimes,andcarriersprovedwillingtopayabookingfeefora

guaranteedslot.Singaporehassinceappliedthesameideaonthewater,withvesselslotbooking.PortssuchasAntwerpbuiltdataexchangesthattheyandtheirpartnerscouldturnintoservices.AIwidenswhatcanbeofferedandshortensthetimeittakestoofferit.

TheNext12Months

Forty-fourpercentofrespondentsareatleastscalingAI.Fourpercentcanshowwhatitdeliverstoearnings.Winnersofthenextphasewillbethosethatcannameashortlistofusecases,built

intocoreoperationsandmeasuredagainstclearoutcomes.Thatisamoremodestambitionthanthecurrentwaveofexperimentationmightsuggest—andafarmorevaluableone,because

connectedvaluecompoundswhileisolatedvaluemerelyaccumulates.

Forterminalleaders,thosefourmovesreducetothreepriorities:

Proveeachusecaseonthatshortlistagainstabaselinetheoperationsmanagerclosesttotheworkaccepts.

Atthesametime,fundthedatafoundationasanenterprise-wideassetratherthanaterminal-by-terminalproject.

Oncethosetwoprioritieshavebeenaddressed,movespendingintooperationalAIandtakewhatitenablestothecustomersalreadyaskingforit.

Inports,technologyhasalwaysservedthebusinessratherthansetitsdirection,andthe

questionsAInowraisesaboutworkandtheworkforcearenotonesatechnologyfunctioncan

answer.Thehardpartisdiscipline,inprovingvalue,buildingthefoundation,andchoosingwheretofocus.Thatdisciplinebelongstotheleadershipteam.

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TheauthorsthankGauravKumarforhissupportincreatingthesurveyandanalyzingtheresultsaswellasKatherinaKyratsasforhervaluablereviewofthisarticle.

AbouttheTerminalIndustryCommittee–TIC4.0

TheTerminalIndustryCommittee4.0(TIC4.0)isaninternationalnon-profit

associationestablishedin2019andbasedinBrussels,dedicatedtodefining

digital-basedstandardsforenablingfasterandmoreefficientdigital

transformationofthecargohandlingindustry.Bringingtogetherglobalterminaloperators,equipmentmanufacturers,andtechnologysolutionproviders,TIC4.0definesharmonizedterminologyaswellasaunifiedlanguage,semanticsand

datamodelstofacilitateinteroperable,efficient,andscalabledigitalsolutions

acrossterminaloperationsandportlogistics.TIC4.0currentlygathersmorethan70companiesoftheworldwideterminalandportindustry,connectingexpertsinoperations,engineering,IT,dataandAIscientistsaswellasportequipment

specialists.Attechnicallevel,TIC4.0isorganizedintask-forces,whichdefine

univocalvocabulary,terminologyanddatamode