Storage and handling of general cargo is quite a complicated area of the terminal's work. Let's take containers, for example. Everything is simple here: standard dimensions and weight characteristics. Even more complex Ro-Ro cargo, as a rule, still have certain linear dimensions and weight. General cargoes are radically different in size, weight, types and number of packages. It can be complex factory machinery in 10 boxes, roundwood, scrap metal, various cargoes in barrels and reels, paper rolls, plywood, piece cargo and much more. It is difficult to effectively organize loading and unloading operations, optimal storage and accounting of general cargo without automation technologies. Especially in the face of growing freight turnover. SOLVO team presented the participants of the Caspian Ports and Shipping 2021 Сonference and Exhibition in Aktau, how the Solvo.TOS system helped the terminal to organize the most efficient handling, storage and further transportation of this special category of cargo.
When handling general cargo, terminal employees should take into account that due to such differences, the equipment for shipment is also different. There are nuances regarding the general cargo compatibility rules. Some of these can be stackable, but some cannot. Specific loads such as roundwood need to be marked separately.
Kirill Schweidel, Business Development Manager of SOLVO, told the participants of the Caspian Ports and Shipping 2021 Сonference, how the Solvo.TOS system helped the terminal to organize the most efficient handling, storage and further transportation of general cargo.
Solvo.TOS takes and processes data from bills of lading or consignment note, as well as information about the cargo nomenclature sent to the terminal. Further, the system creates separate storage rules for each such nomenclature, generates working technological maps that regulate what type of load handling machinery should be sent to shunting operations with one or another cargo.
Now Solvo.TOS takes care of all the planning and distribution of work instead of the terminal staff. The system analyzes the collected data and makes mathematical calculations to:
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Distribute space in the storage area as efficiently as possible, taking into account the compatibility of different general cargo.
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Save the time required to find a free storage cell and assign tasks to load handling equipment and terminal employees.
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Keep records of general cargo so that nothing is lost, as well as effectively organize their its shipment.
At the SOLVO stand, visitors of Caspian Ports and Shipping 2021 learned about solutions for ports and terminals, both in the direction of working with general and all other types of cargo, including containers, Ro-Ro, Bulk. The greatest interest was focused on the railway operations module of the Solvo.TOS system. This is due to the fact that Kazakhstan has a well-developed railway logistics network.
Warehouse logistics solutions were also in demand. For example, industry representatives were interested in the multifunctional platform Solvo.SCE, which included a set of technologies for the automation of terminals and warehouses. This solution is already being used by the leading Uzbek company ULS.
By the way, a delegation of the government of Uzbekistan was also among the visitors of the SOLVO stand. Interest was aroused by the company's technologies and competencies in the implementation of complex and non-trivial logistics tasks. In particular, the opportunity to create a single digital ecosystem for several parallel logistic objects remote from each other and to establish communication between different participants in the logistic chain. An example of such a case is the integration of the
ports of Aktau and Baku.
Besides, representatives of the port of Aktau, SOLVO clients, also visited the company's stand.
“It's always very important for us to get feedback. This time we have been especially pleased with the positive comments about the convenience of working with the SOLVO client web portal”, said Kirill Schweidel.
The international exhibition and conference has provided an opportunity for all the participants to discuss topical issues of the transport industry in an open dialogue format. The trip to Port Kuryk has turned out to be very useful for the SOLVO team. From a professional point of view, it makes possible to see the operation of terminals in practice and draw conclusions about which areas can be automated, having made logistics operations and other business processes even more efficient. This means increasing the speed and quality of logistics and business processes. And, as the results of Caspian Ports and Shipping 2021 have shown, the Caspian region supports the global trend towards logistics digitalization.
