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TOC Europe 2019 fuses mass container flows with mass data flows

Digitalization and its impact on global containerised trade is set to dominate TOC Europe 2019, returning to the global maritime trade hub of Rotterdam, The Netherlands on 18-20 June 2019.

The 43rd edition of TOC Europe, including the Container Supply Chain (CSC) Conference, will drill down into the reality of moving containers across the oceans in the digital age; what will change, what will stay the same, and the potential winners and losers in this new era.

Delegates to the CSC Conference will discuss the dynamics of new technology, both as an enabler and a disruptor, and how this could engender radically different business models that render obsolete many of the assumptions currently underpinning global trade in physical goods.

Exhibition visitors meanwhile will have a unique opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the latest port and terminal technology in the large trade fair and accompanying technical seminars.

Key CSC speakers this year include Mike White, CEO of Maersk GTD & Head of TradeLens, Maersk. GTD, or Global Trade Digitization, is the joint project formed last year by Maersk, the world’s biggest container shipping line, and tech giant IBM.

Its aim is to bring global supply chains into the 21st century by digitizing them so as to reduce the cost of global shipping, improve visibility across supply chains and eliminate inefficiencies stemming from paper-based processes.

Also featured on Day One of the CSC Conference is a joint presentation by Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Department of Global Studies & Geography, at Hofstra University, and Dr. Theo Notteboom, Director, Center for Eurasian Maritime and Inland Logistics (CEMIL), Shanghai Maritime University & Professor, University of Antwerp and Ghent University, who will provide a provocative assessment on the impact of digitalisation on the global container terminal operations market.

Later the same day, Digital Transformation from the point of view of the ‘disruptors’ will be showcased in a debate session featuring Graham Parker, CEO, Kontainers, Thor Thorup, CCO & Co-Founder of Portchain, and Alexander Goulandris, Co-Founder & CEO, essDOCS.

Adapting maritime, port and logistics regulations to the new era of digitalisation and automation is another key theme on the agenda, along with the impact of substantive new environmental and climate change legislation, including the IMO2020 sulphur cap.

CSC delegates will also get the latest intelligence on business fundamentals, with analysts, cargo owners and supply chain practitioners assessing the outlook for global container trade, shipping and port operations. Executives sharing views include Neil Davidson, Senior Analyst Ports & Terminals at Drewry, Dieter Degryse, GM – EAME Transportation at Caterpillar, David Lenaers, Senior Transportation Manager EMEA-ANZ at Stanley Black & Decker and Helge Neumann-Lezius, VP Product & Capacity Management EMEA at DHL Global.

Day Two turns the focus onto a critically important corollary of digitalization; Cyber Security in an age of mass data flows, as part of a new day-long seminar on port, shipping and supply chain resilience under the theme ‘Protect Your Assets.’.

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, SeaIntelligence Consulting, will walk delegates through the means to identify the opportunities, risks and vulnerabilities of digitalization. Mr. Jensen will also show how port technology can be used to enhance supply chain risk management, as well as the need for collaboration and partnerships among key players to mitigate supply chain risk.

Continuing the security and resilience theme, two further sessions will look at more physical risks to supply chains.

Countering Illicit Trade, a session supported by the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), will discuss the costs of, and opportunities to reduce, trade in illicit, counterfeit and pirated goods.

Meanwhile, Fighting Corruption in the Maritime Industry through Collective Action, is the focus of a later session supported by the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), a global business network working towards the vision of a maritime industry free of corruption that enables fair trade to the benefit of society at large.

Running in parallel will be a focused seminar looking at the impact of Brexit on key logistics chains including automotive, pharmaceuticals and food and beverage. The Brexit Breakdown is organised in partnership with The Loadstar magazine.

TECH TOC & Dry Bulk Seminar

The perennially popular TECH TOC seminars take place again this year on the show flow, building on many of the issues debated within CSC concerning digitalisation and disruptive technologies and exploring how these will impact day-to-day container handling in modern terminals.

Visitors to the TOC Europe exhibition are free to drop into the TECH TOC Seminar Zone, where topics such as automation, disruptive technologies, data-driven operations and clean tech will be discussed with aim of achieving solid efficiency and sustainability gains in terminal operations. Among key panels is an update on the TIC 4.0 container terminal technology standardisation initiative , launched by major operators and technology providers to ease adoption and integration of automated and digital systems. World Cargo News magazine will also stage its 3rd Leaders Debate.

Rounding off the discussion element of TOC Europe is the Dry Bulk Seminar. Key issues concerning the effective, safe and environmentally-friendly operation of dry bulk terminals will be included in this increasingly popular conference, with high level speakers including Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.

Growing exhibition

In between the numerous conference and seminar sessions, visitors can profit from the extensive TOC Europe exhibition which this year is expected to be even bigger than ever.

More than 180 exhibitors will showcase the power of face-to-face contact, hosting meetings and live demonstrations essential for buyers to make informed purchasing decisions. The volume of port and terminal professionals who visit the event remains consistently high and proves that TOC is still the most important place for busy terminal operators to source and compare innovative technology.

As usual, several exhibitors are scheduled to use this year’s event as a platform to launch new products, re-confirming TOC’s reputation as the world’s leading port and terminal technology event.

New to TOC Europe this year is a dedicated Dry Bulk Pavilion where the latest technologies and best practices designed to enhance efficiencies in dry bulk handling will be on display.

Bulk terminals concerned with air quality, noise, lighting, safety, energy consumption, regulation and port development will be at TOC Europe to compare products and services. In addition, the Dry Bulk seminar programme will give smaller suppliers a major platform to discuss industry challenges and solutions in front of bulk terminal operators.

For 40 years, TOC Worldwide has provided the market-leading conference and exhibition forums for the global port and terminal industries, their customers and suppliers. With the addition of the TOC Container Supply Chain conference alongside established coverage of port development, operations and technology, the TOC event portfolio has now evolved to attract a wider audience of container supply chain professionals.

Taking place each year in the world’s key shipping hubs, including Europe, Middle East, Americas and Asia, each TOC is now a complete maritime supply chain event for its region, bringing together cargo owners, logistics providers, carriers, ports, terminals and other key stakeholders to learn, debate, network and foster new business solutions.

TOC also provides a platform for port operations, technology and shipping professionals in the dry bulk sector to come together and advance best practice in bulk cargo handling and supply chain operations.
Source: TOC Worldwide

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