On September 2, 2011, the “2011 (1st) International Port & Shipping Informationization Forum” organized jointly by Shanghai International Shipping Institute (SISI) and Shanghai North Bund Shipping Service Cluster Construction & Development Office, and co-organized jointly by China Shipping (Group) Company, Shanghai Maritime University, Shipping Management magazine, Containerization magazine, Shanghai Development Center of Computer Software Technology, and Research Center for Shanghai Transport, Port and Shipping Development, in association with Shipping Information Technology Institute of SISI and College of Information Engineering of Shanghai Maritime University, was successfully held in Ocean Hotel Shanghai. More than 180 representatives from nearly 100 organizations or companies attended the Forum, including relevant governmental departments, international port and shipping enterprises, shipping information technology research institutions, and shipping information product developers. Gao Xiang, Division Chief of Informationization Management Division of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Transport, Zhu Jianhua, Deputy Director and Inspector of Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority, and Huang Youfang, Professor and Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University delivered respective speeches to congratulate the convocation of the Forum.

    Guests attending the Forum (from the left): Zhen Hong, Professor and Secretary-General of SISI; Shen Kangchen, Director of Shipping Information Technology Institute of SISI; Gao Xiang, Division Chief of Informationization Management Division, the Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Transport; Lin Jianqing, Vice President and CIO of China Shipping (Group) Company; Zhu Jianhua, Deputy Director and Inspector (at the department-chief level) of Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority; Huang Youfang, Professor and Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University; Shao Zhiqing, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization; Zhang Jianguo, Deputy Director of Shanghai North Bund Shipping Service Cluster Construction & Development Office; Wang Xiaofeng, Professor and Director of the College of Information Engineering of Shanghai Maritime University.
    China ranked fourth in the world in terms of shipping fleet capacity in 2009, and took six seats on the world’s top-10 list of container ports in 2010. More than 80% of China’s foreign-trade cargos were imported or exported by shipping. With the deepening of economic globalization, information technology has become a necessary means for domestic and foreign port and shipping enterprises to improve operating efficiency and uplift competitiveness. Therefore, the construction of port and shipping informationization is of strategic significance to China’s economic and social development. As the first large forum on port and shipping informationization held in Shanghai in recent years, it demonstrated the achievements of informationization in international port and shipping industry, and explored the development path of port and shipping informationization as well as the shipping information industry. This Forum played a positive role in promoting the informationization drive of Shanghai International Shipping Center and fulfilling the strategic task of “Creating a Future-oriented Smart City”.
    Shao Zhiqing, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, pointed out the importance of shipping informationization to the development of China’s shipping industry, and put forward relevant measures on the implementation of informationization. According to him, the construction of informationization shall be based on the urban information infrastructure, and implemented by promoting digital parks and other industrial reforms in combination with e-commerce and e-government etc. It encompasses the idea of comprehensively building an informationalized society, vigorously promoting the development of information industry, upgrading the self-development and innovative service, improving policies and measures to create a better environment for informationization innovation, and further deepening the construction of shipping informationization. He also proposed a guiding plan for the construction of shipping informationization with an aim to create a more modern concept of shipping development. The plan involved the deepening of e-port applications by, for example, expanding the pilot scope of “simultaneously submitting one entry of quarantine or declaration information to customs and the quarantine inspection department” and the “e-payment system for national customs duties”, etc.

    Shao Zhiqing, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization
    Building a Smart Shanghai: Thoughts on Shipping Informatization
    Lin Jianqing, Vice President and CIO of China Shipping (Group) Company, made clear in his speech that the supportive national policies and economic globalization trend have not only brought new opportunities to the development of China’s port and shipping informationization, but also played a positive role in accelerating the construction of SISI. Meanwhile, there is still a gap between China’s current port and shipping facilities and the world-class shipping centers, revealing such problems as a disordered division of information system, information system security, data management, and infrastructure management. Mr. Lin put forward four suggestions for the future development of shipping informationization, namely, improved awareness and organization, unified planning and resource integration, overall consideration and effective combination, as well as highlighted emphasis and all-round promotion. His speech outlined a direction for port and shipping informationization from the perspective of an overall development strategy.

    Lin Jianqing, Vice President and CIO of China Shipping (Group) Company
    Accelerating the Integration of Port and Shipping Information Resources and Uplifting the Overall Strength of Port and Shipping Informationization
    Huang Youfang, Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University, analyzed comprehensively the current development of international port and shipping industry, as well as the trend of shipping informationization technologies. As stated by him, although the rapid development of China’s port and shipping industry during the 11th Five-year Plan period has laid a solid foundation for informationization construction, China still lags behind other advanced countries and regions in the construction of port and shipping informationization and shall transform it from subordinate industry to core industry. By proposing constructive countermeasures, Mr. Huang pointed out that, shipping enterprises shall focus on customers’ demand, emphasize technological innovation and college talents training, establish comprehensive one-stop service information network, and realize the “spatial displacement” of goods and “real-time sharing” of information in the most economical, fastest and safest manner.

    Huang Youfang, Deputy Dirctor of SISI and Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University
    Current Development and Outlook for International Port and Shipping Informationization
    Sa Kangming, Director of the Information Office of Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, introduced the current development of Shanghai maritime informationization, and elaborated the vision of Shanghai in developing maritime  informationization during the 12th Five-year Period. He identified three key points in the construction of soft informationization environment, including enhancing the collaborative supervision by strengthening cooperation; participating in the promotion of soft environment construction with active enthusiasm; and contributing to the shipping informationization based on the concept of serving the port and shipping industry.

    Sa Kangming, Director of the Information Office of Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration
    Current Development of Shanghai Maritime Informationization and Thoughts on Its Future Development in the 12th Five-year Period
    Mr. Wang Xinbo, General Manager of Shanghai COSCO Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Director of Computer Center of COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd, pointed out that informationization is of enormous strategic significance to shipping enterprises and plays an important role in industrial competition. He emphasized that although informationization is not the product directly convertible into corporate benefits, the role it plays in achieving corporate development strategies can never be underestimated. Informationization carries significant meanings to the improvement of asset utilization, development of e-commerce, and enhancement of cooperation with suppliers. Furthermore, only when the informationization construction is regarded as a corporate development strategy can it play the maximum role and bring more valuable to enterprises.

    Wang Xinbo, General Manager of Shanghai COSCO Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Director of Computer Center of COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd.:
    Considering the Informationization of Shipping Enterprises from a Strategic Perspective
    Huang Heng, General Manager of Shanghai Harbor e-Logistics Software Co., Ltd. under Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd., analyzed the current informationization construction at the Port of Shanghai, and introduced informationization applications, relevant functional systems and terminal automation technologies of terminal enterprises. He also outlined three directions for informationization construction: first, to establish an integrated corporate management information system; second, to build an information platform enabling interactive business operation; and third, to set up a regional integrated logistics information service system.

    Huang Heng, General Manager of Shanghai Harbor e-Logistics Software Co., Ltd.
    New Progresses of China’s Port Informationization
    Yong Xinyang, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Software Development Center of Hong Kong-based orient Overseas Container Line Limited, introduced the meaning of corporate core competitiveness, and explained the crucial role that informationization has played as the corporate core competitiveness in enhancing corporate innovation and decision-making ability in terms of management, enabling enterprises to meet more customer demands for products and services, and realizing competitive operation with lower cost, faster speed and higher quality. Meanwhile, he suggested that technological innovation and clearer strategic orientation shall be adopted to rise to any possible challenges in the process of informationization.

    Yong Xinyang, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Software Development Center of Hong Kong-based orient Overseas Container Line Limited
Informationization is the Key to Enhanced Competitiveness of Shipping Enterprises
    By reviewing his past experience and understanding of third-party logistics warehouses, Xu Xichun, Deputy General Manager of Comprehensive Management Department of NYK Logistics (China) Co., Ltd., pointed out that the third-party logistics warehouse features diverse businesses, geographical distribution, and tight schedule for organizing warehouse rental, etc. He also suggested us to learn experiences and lessons of construction and development from overseas better-developed third-party logistics warehouses, and establish our own development models with Chinese characteristics.
    Subsequently, Deputy Director Li Yuwei of the UC Berkeley Center for Future Urban Transport, Director Tang Tianhao of the Institute of Electric Drives & Control Engineering of Shanghai Maritime University, and Director Chen Changhua of Transport Industry Department of ESRI China (Beijing) Ltd. introduced respectively some advanced technologies applicable for port and shipping informationization. Professor Li explained the great significance that “Internet of Things” bears to energy saving and emission reduction of port and shipping, and analyzed the new advantages that Internet of Things enjoys in actual use through a comparison with conventional energy-saving measures, having provided new ideas for the green development of enterprises. According to Professor Tang, the transformation from automation to intelligentization will be the mainstream development of port and shipping technology, while information technology will be the key to future development. The MITS (Maritime Intelligent Transport System) under research and development will promote China’s shipping automation in an all-round way and ensure shipping safety, thus leading to long-term social benefits and national security. During the introduction to port and shipping informationization applications, Mr. Chen Changhua unveiled the enormous potentials of GIS (Geographic Information System) which was considered as an important guarantee for the efficient, rapid and superior development of port and shipping informationization.
    During the breaks, representatives from around the country carried out extensive and in-depth discussions and exchanges on e.g. international shipping informationization and the development of port and shipping information technology. This open and mutual communication enabled a full understand of the technological innovations of other fellow researchers and expanded the vision of technical research and application. Finally, the 1st International Port and Shipping Informationization Forum was successfully concluded amid warm applauses. The success launching of the Forum had not only promoted technological cooperation and information exchange in port and shipping industry, but also brought numerous enlightenments and inspirations for the construction of future port and shipping informationization in China.