Chapter 9 Achieving Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy: Enterprise Applications 377 INTERACTIVE SESSION: ORGANIZATIONS DP WORLD TAKES PORT MANAGEMENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH RFID DP (Dubai Ports) World has reason to be proud Prior to the RFID deployment, DP World spent of its accomplishment of becoming one of the lead- several months performing proof-of-concept tri- ing terminal operators in the world. Today, DP als involving several competing RFID suppliers. World has 60 terminals across 6 continents, and 11 Because of the rugged environmental conditions at new terminals are under development. The firm the ports, DP World required that 99.5 percent of employs an international professional team of more all tags be read successfully, which was a key chal- than 30,000 people to serve customers in some of lenge for many vendors. After extensive testing and the most dynamic economies in the world. evaluation, DP World selected Identec Solutions, a DP World has adopted a customer-centric global leader in active wireless tracking solutions, approach to enhancing its customers' supply chains as its RFID supplier by providing quality, innovative services to effec- How does the RFID tracking system work? tively manage container, bulk, and other terminal Trucks that visit a port terminal are equipped with cargo. The firm invests heavily in terminal infra- active RFID tags supplied by Identec Solutions structures, technologies, and people to best serve its that are fixed on the rear chassis. As a truck moves customers. towards the gate, its unique tag ID number is read Like other global port and terminal operators, by an RFID reader, which is integrated with an auto- DP World helps shippers around the world address mated gate system. At the gate, an optical character the often complex and costly challenges of manag- recognition (OCR) system determines if the truck ing the supply chain. One of the typical problems is loaded with a container, identifies the ID number encountered in container terminal operations is of the truck's container, and reads the truck license traffic congestion at port entry points. This conges- plate number as a backup identification. The sys- tion is often due to delays introduced by lengthy tem uses the supplied information to automatically procedures and paper-based logistics. In response, issue a ticket to the driver that specifies the lane the DP World has introduced many IT-based solutions to truck should proceed to in order to load or unload enhance terminal capacity utilization. These solu- the container. The system can also automatical tions include the electronic custom release of cargo, determine if the truck is on time, which is essential Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) reporting, two- information for the efficient pickup and drop off of way digital radio communications, and the 'e-token' containers. As the truck leaves the gate, the RFID advanced booking system. tag is read once again, and the driver receives a DP World management wanted to take things a receipt for the completed transaction. step further and decided to make the loading and RFID has enabled DP World to increase the pro- unloading of containers operate on "just in time" ductivity of container handoffs, speed the entry and principles to improve container turnaround. It exit of trucks through terminal gates, and increase found that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) fuel efficiency. Victoria Rose, regional office proj- technology was an effective way of increasing the ect coordinator at DP World Sydney maintained efficiency of truck movements through port access that RFID would improve gate efficiency through gates. Today, DP World uses RFID-enabled auto- improved truck management, reducing queues and matic gate systems at the port terminals it operates congestion around gates, and removing the number in Dubai and Australia. According to Mohammed Al of trucks from public roads by streamlining proce- Muallem, managing director of DP World UAE, the dures. introduction of an automated gate system would Identec's RFID-based solution has also enabled not only eliminate traffic congestion but would also DP World to improve customer satisfaction by help to eliminate a number of lengthy procedures, enhancing the efficiency of customers' supply increasing productivity at the ports, and improving chains through smoother, faster, and more effec- customer satisfaction. This will in turn, increase the tive delivery of their containers at terminal gates. turnaround of shipping goods. The elimination of lengthy paper transactions and 378 Part Three Key System Applications for the Digital Age investigating its use within the yard, and how data captured can be used manual inspections at gates and the reduction in manual data input errors demonstrate DP World's customer-centric approach to delivering a superior level of service. The technology also allows trans- port companies to save time, increase revenues, and reduce costs. DP World's use of RFID has also helped it to tighten security by providing better accuracy on inbound and outbound truck movements through the terminals. For instance, the system can auto- matically check whether a truck has a booking and whether it is authorized to enter the port. As a next step, DP World will consider expand- ing its use of RFID-enabled scanning and tracking technology to further optimize supply chain flow. In the future, Rose hopes DP World will focus on Sources: Dave Friedlos, "RFID Boosts DP World's Productivity in Australia," RFID Joumal, July 27, 2009 (www.rfidjournal.com/arti- cle/view/5086, accessed October 20, 2010); Rhea Wessel, DP World Ramps Up Its Dubal Deployment," RFID Joumal, August 13, 2009 (www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/5130, accessed October 20, 2010); "DP World UAE Implements Automated Gate System at Jebel Ali Port," The Zone, May June 2008 (www.jafza.ae/mediafiles/ 2008/10/23/20081023_Issue-11.pdf, accessed October 20, 2010), p. 11; DP World (www.dpworld.com, accessed October 20, 2010): Identec Solutions (www.idente solutions.com, accessed October 20, 2010). Case contributed by Faouzi Kamoun, The University of Dubai CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 1. How did Identec Solutions RFID-based technology help DP World increase the efficiency and effec- tiveness of its customers' supply chains? 2. Describe two improvements that resulted from implementing the Identec RFID-based solution. 3. How does the concept of supply chain execution relate to this interactive session? 4. What managerial, organizational, and technologi- cal challenges might DP World have faced in the early stages of the RFID project's deployment