Comparative analysis of port competency requirements in Vietnam and Korea

ABSTRACT

Much research has been conducted recently on the changing role of ports in the context of international logistics and supply chain management focusing on issues such as port efficiency and competitiveness. However, little research has been found on the critical aspect that contributes to making a port efficient and effective, especially, in the new era: the port human capital. As seaports play a critical role in the supply chain, it is thus important that the port personnel possess necessary competencies to contribute to port efficiency and turn the port into an effective supply chain partner. In this paper, this research issue is explored through a conceptual model of competencies and validated empirically by a survey with port executives in Vietnam and Korea. As a result, important managerial insights are drawn to the design and implementation of human resource development policy for ports.     

A logistics and supply chain management approach to port performance measurement

Although there is widespread recognition of the potential of ports as logistics centres, widely accepted performance measurements for such centres have yet to be developed. The essence of logistics and supply chain management is an integrative approach to the interaction of different processes and functions within a firm extended to a network of organizations for the purpose of cost reduction and customer satisfaction []. The logistics approach often adopts a cost trade-off analysis between functions, processes and even supply chains []. This approach could be beneficial to port efficiency by directing port strategy towards relevant value-added logistics activities. This paper seeks to show that through conceptualizing ports from a logistics and supply chain management approach, it is possible to suggest a relevant framework of port performance. A proposed framework is tested in a survey of port managers and other international experts.     

A logistics and supply chain management approach to port performance measurement

Although there is widespread recognition of the potential of ports as logistics centres, widely accepted performance measurements for such centres have yet to be developed. The essence of logistics and supply chain management is an integrative approach to the interaction of different processes and functions within a firm extended to a network of organizations for the purpose of cost reduction and customer satisfaction [1]. The logistics approach often adopts a cost trade-off analysis between functions, processes and even supply chains [2]. This approach could be beneficial to port efficiency by directing port strategy towards relevant value-added logistics activities. This paper seeks to show that through conceptualizing ports from a logistics and supply chain management approach, it is possible to suggest a relevant framework of port performance. A proposed framework is tested in a survey of port managers and other international experts.     

The changing role of ports in supply-chain management: an empirical analysis

As integrated supply-chain management (SCM) is now at the epicentre of business transformation, firms are breaking down boundaries between internal functions, as well as between the enterprise itself and key partners in the value chain (e.g. customers, distributors, suppliers and carriers). One of the main goals of such new management approach is to get everyone in the supply chain into a common platform of logistics transactions and information systems.

Against such background, the aim of this work is to analyse how and if port operators can face the challenge of higher integration, on the assumption that the higher the integration between the actors the higher the competitiveness of the whole supply chain.

Accordingly, we adopted an SCM approach in the analysis of the port of Le Havre in Renault's supply chain. More specifically, we referred to the Lambert tri-dimensional model based on supply chain's structure (actors), key business processes and links between actors. The field work—which mainly consisted of semi-structured interviews to Renault, logistics and port operators, and, finally, to the Le Havre Port Authority—was crucial to gather the needed information.     

The changing role of ports in supply-chain management: an empirical analysis

As integrated supply-chain management (SCM) is now at the epicentre of business transformation, firms are breaking down boundaries between internal functions, as well as between the enterprise itself and key partners in the value chain (e.g. customers, distributors, suppliers and carriers). One of the main goals of such new management approach is to get everyone in the supply chain into a common platform of logistics transactions and information systems.

Against such background, the aim of this work is to analyse how and if port operators can face the challenge of higher integration, on the assumption that the higher the integration between the actors the higher the competitiveness of the whole supply chain.

Accordingly, we adopted an SCM approach in the analysis of the port of Le Havre in Renault's supply chain. More specifically, we referred to the Lambert tri-dimensional model based on supply chain's structure (actors), key business processes and links between actors. The field work—which mainly consisted of semi-structured interviews to Renault, logistics and port operators, and, finally, to the Le Havre Port Authority—was crucial to gather the needed information.     

The impact of dry port operations on container seaports competitiveness

The concepts of intermodal logistics and distribution networks have made integration of the inland freight distribution system essential for an efficient container seaport system. Inland components, such as dry ports, which exist within the seaport system, have become important in shaping the performance and competitive strategies of container seaports. Owing to the importance of interdependence between dry ports and container seaports, this paper aims to investigate the impact of dry port operations on container seaport competitiveness. It conducted an empirical study in Malaysia through 120 online surveys to key stakeholders of dry ports, including freight forwarders, shippers, seaports, rail operator, shipping lines, and haulers. The data collected were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results from EFA show that Malaysian dry port operations have impacts on seaport competitiveness. These include enhancing seaport performance, increasing service variations for seaports, improving seaport-hinterland proximity, increasing seaport trade volume, and enhancing seaport capacity.     

Environmental sustainability in seaports: a framework for successful innovation

Environmental sustainability in the port industry is of growing concern for port authorities, policy makers, port users and local communities. Innovation can provide a solution to the main environmental issues, but often meets resistance. While certain types of technological or organisational innovation can be satisfactorily analysed using closed system theories, in the case of seaports and in particular in the area of environmental sustainability, more advanced conceptual frameworks have to be considered. These frameworks need to be able to account for the multiple stakeholder nature of the port industry and of the network and vertical interactions that environmental sustainability calls for. This article investigates successful innovations improving environmental sustainability of seaports. The proposed framework builds in part on research concepts developed in the InnoSuTra EU FP7 project. From a methodological perspective, this article develops a method for quantifying the degree of success of innovation with respect to a set of specific objectives. Several case studies are used to test the framework against real innovation examples, such as onshore power supply, or alternative fuels. In this article, we argue that only those innovations that fit dynamically port actors’ demands and the port institutional environment stand a chance to succeed.     

后方陆域窄小的海湾港口发展模式

海港大型化、深水化发展要求港口大型船舶提供更深的水域和更广的后方陆域。在深水岸线资源紧缺的情况下,探讨了水深条件良好而后方陆域窄小的海湾港口发展模式,通过建设物流通道来扩展港口活动的空间,从而带动地区经济的发展,并从集聚角度论证了该发展模式能有效降低社会物流成本。     

Placing dryports. Port regionalization as a planning challenge - The case of Hamburg, Germany, and the Süderelbe

This paper emphasizes dryports in the context of port regionalization. It specifically deals with dryports as a challenge for planning, policy and metropolitan governance in the vicinity of seaports. The starting point is the ongoing spatial shift of terminals, distribution centres and port related developments towards the hinterland of mainports and the associated planning conflicts, raising negative impacts such as congestion, land consumption, land use conflicts and neighbourhood conflicts. The paper discusses these challenges against the empirical case of the Süderelbe-region in the Southern hinterland of the port of Hamburg, Germany. It focuses on the often neglected yet highly controversial issue of land use and related traffic flows. Further it reveals how these conflicts are being managed at the regional level. The main contention of the paper is that port regionalization triggers substantial planning conflicts different from those that are known from core port areas, due to the associated demand for land and infrastructure and also as a result of the often poorly developed institutional framework to solve these problems.     

Economic policies and seaports: The economic functions of seaports

This paper argues that the economic functions of seaports are to benefit those whose trade passes through them, i.e. through providing increments to consumers' and producers' surpluses. Whilst recent developments in the technologies of seaports (containers, bigger ships, more rapid handling of bulk cargoes) have increased technical efficiency, they have also provided such economies of scale as to reduce some opportunities for competition and, therefore, the probability that cost reductions are actually passed on in this way. For this purpose port costs need to be considered in their entirety, i.e. as generalized transport costs per tonne, comprising money, time and the risks of loss, damage and delay. Such cost reductions will lead to expanded trade in a variety of ways.

This statement of the economic function of seaports is contrasted with views that they should try to increase employment in their locality, or that they should maximize profits.     

A Few observations on productivity in seaports

In this paper, the author describes and discusses the cargo-handling productivity in European seaports and the various factors which may influence it. He focuses on the effects of the 'port revolution' which began in the years of reconstruction following the end of the Second World War. This involved the introduction of new (and usually mechanized) cargo-handling techniques which die so much to change the traditional approach to shipping and port operations. He goes on to assess the importance of these developments for the Port of Antwerp, stressing particularly the organization of dock labour, the physical lay-out of the port, and the type and extent of use of technical equipment. He concludes that big differences exist in port productivity between continental European ports, due to the degree to which they have been affected by, and, more importantly perhaps, responded to, the changes of the past few decades.     

The role of dry port in hub-and-spoke network under Belt and Road Initiative

Dry port plays increasingly an important role in the integration of inland regions with seaports, and cross-border inland ports especially in the context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) originally proposed by China. This paper studies a logistics network connecting the inland regions by dry ports based on a two-stage logistical gravity model. First, a basic logistical gravity model is developed to analyze the radiated inland regions from dry ports, where the logistical quality of dry ports is calculated by principal component analysis. Second, considering mutual impacts among dry ports, seaports and cross-border inland ports, the influence of logistical gravity on the network is examined by using a coefficient based on the Ordered Weighted Averaging Operator in multi-attribute decision theory. An improved logistical gravity model is further developed to investigate the logistical connections among various ports (e.g. dry ports, seaports and cross-border inland ports; hub and feeder ports). Then, a hub-and-spoke network can be established. Dry ports are potential to connect to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. So a Chinese case is used to verify the proposed method. The strategies of embedding inland regions in the BRI are discussed based on the experimental studies.     

Environmental innovation and the role of stakeholder collaboration in West Coast port gateways

The paper explores the role of stakeholder collaboration in the adoption of innovations as part of the environmental and sustainability agenda of port gateways. We do this through a comparative assessment of the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. An inductive research approach is used to identify and assess the initiation and implementation process behind exemplary innovations. Innovation includes new technologies and processes for handling and moving cargo, mechanisms for planning and policy making, as well as financing, implementing, upgrading, managing and operating infrastructure systems. A relatively new arena for competition on the basis of innovation concerns environmental performance. The conceptual framework and empirical evidence suggest that while there may be intense demand for and supply of innovation in port gateways, the complex dynamics of the logistics chain are such that successful innovation requires conscious involvement and collaboration of stakeholders.     

Influential factors in the design of port infrastructure tariffs

ABSTRACT

The main aim of this article is to examine the factors influential to the practical process of port infrastructure tariff design. The analysis is based on the survey data of 67 seaports representing the Australasian, East Asian, European, North American and South American regions. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was first carried out to identify the factors influential to the selection of the infrastructure tariff design model. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the relationship between the variables. The findings showed that demand, knowledge about pricing theories, the dynamics of port and shipping sectors (including competition and ship size), pricing objectives and port cost consideration are influential factors in infrastructure tariff design. Most ports use a mix of pricing approaches including price discrimination, cost-based pricing and market-based pricing. Ports are aware of the basic pricing approaches but have limited knowledge of their application. Based on the results of analysis, policy implications for port management in designing port infrastructure tariffs, limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Simulation-based severe weather-induced container terminal economic loss estimation

Container terminals play a critical role in maritime supply chains. However, they show vulnerabilities to severe weather events due to the sea–land interface locations. Previous severe weather risk analysis focused more on larger assessment units, such as regions and cities. Limited studies assessed severe weather risks on a smaller scale of seaports. This paper aims to propose a severe weather-induced container terminal loss estimation framework. Based on a container terminal operation simulation model, monthly average loss and single event-induced loss are obtained by using historical hazard records and terminal operation records as model inputs. By studying the Port of Shenzhen as the case study, we find that the fog events in March lead to the longest monthly port downtime and the highest monthly severe weather-induced economic losses in the studied port. The monthly average loss is estimated to be 30 million USD, accounting for 20% of the intact income. The worst-case scenario is found to be a red-signal typhoon attack which results in nearly 20% decrease in the month’s income. The results provide useful references for various container terminal stakeholders in severe weather risk management.     

Container terminals in South Korea: problems and panaceas

Korea has achieved remarkable economic growth over the last three decades. This has largely been due to the adoption of export-oriented economic policies. This economic development has resulted in a rapid increase in export and import cargos. Since the foreign trade of Korea is carried predominantly by sea transport (approximately 99.8% in terms of volume), ports play a crucial role in this process. Although recent port developments are aimed at keeping pace with ever-growing seaborne cargoes, problems persist, especially insufficient port capacity and inefficient management and operations. As a consequence, the ports of Korea suffer from serious port congestion. This problem is particularly acute in Pusan, the fifth largest container port in the world. In the past, all ports in Korea were controlled and administered by the Korea Maritime and Port Administration which was a public port authority. In August 1996, the Korean government established a new government organization, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), with a remit to control and manage its seaports and other related activities and to improve management efficiency in the maritime area. As a way of solving problems related to port congestion and other sources of inefficiency, the new MMAF has launched several new port development schemes. In this context, this paper will discuss (1) the extent of congestion in Korean ports, especially Pusan, the major seaport of the country; and (2) governmental and commercial reaction to solving the problems, including measures such as new port development schemes aimed at attracting private and foreign finance. From this analysis, a strategy for port development in developing countries may be inferred.     

The foreign non-fuel cargo-traffic demand of the major British seaports in 1980 and 1985, a Markov Chain approach

Projections of the future traffic demand of British seaports are of great importance to port management bodies because of the huge capital investment required for installing modern port facilities. In this paper, the author uses a first order Markov Chain model to forecast the non-fuel cargo traffic demand of the major British seaports in 1980 and 1985.     

集装箱码头仿真和优化研究进展

当今90%的国际货物要经过海港,并且80%的海上运输货物要用集装箱运输。集装箱码头的设计者和管理者为了节省费用和快速有效地满足集装箱运输的需求,使用了缩短船舶在港停泊时间,高效利用人力、泊位、堆场和装卸设备资源等措施。为了进一步研究集装箱码头系统,通过查阅相关研究文献,总结了集装箱码头仿真和优化研究的主要问题和某些研究的局限性,展望了未来的研究趋势。     

基于精益六西格玛的港口供应链物流模式

在国际供应链环境下,现代港口物流管理变得越来越重要。精益六西格玛是一种力求降低成本,提高效益和服务可靠性的管理思想。分析了港口供应链物流管理模式现状及存在的问题,详细阐述了精益六西格玛的管理思想。介绍了基于精益六西格玛的港口供应链流程设计、流程运作和监控。指出引入该管理模式,对提高港口竞争力大有裨益。     

Seaports and the structural implications of the economic crisis

The 2008 credit crunch and the subsequent economic crisis ended a period that lasted over two decades wherein international seaports around the globe experienced double-digit volume increases. This chapter provides an analysis of the structural effects that the crisis has on seaports, focusing mostly on developments in Europe. It does so via an examination of (a) the crisis implication for each of the four major types of transport flows that account for the vast majority of port throughput worldwide; (b) the prospects for future capacity organisation and development, given the realignment of the involvement strategies that the various stakeholders (i.e., governments, port authorities, service providers, users, investors) endorse in reaction to the financial tsunami; and (c) the adjustment opportunities, that the trade downturn unintentionally provides, allowing for correction of existing misallocations in the sector via the deployment of relevant adjustment strategies by the related actors. Recapping the identified structural consequences, the final section concludes on the changing role and responsibilities of port authorities and the ‘new issues’ that will require further investigation in the post-financial tsunami era.