A comprehensive Port of Long Beach digital platform being designed to help speed cargo deliveries across the nation, the Supply Chain Information Highway, is getting an infusion of funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development or GO-Biz announced a $7.875 million grant for the port’s data system today. Funding is expected to help build out a variety of functions including export and rail cargo visibility, user authentication and data security, the exchange of data between foreign ports, truck appointments and a number of future project enhancements.
The Supply Chain Information Highway will enable stakeholders to make scheduling, planning and operational decisions prior to cargo arrival, making the delivery of goods more efficient and cost effective. The cloud-based system is anticipated to be compatible with similar data-sharing platforms across the maritime logistics industry, including at major California ports, supporting improved supply chain resilience, goods movement efficiency, emissions reductions, and economic competitiveness.
“With six marine terminals at the Port of Long Beach now connecting to a beta version of the Supply Chain Information Highway, we’ve entered a crucial phase of development,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “We are grateful to the State of California and GO-Biz for their continued leadership in supporting data modernization to bolster goods movement. This funding will be important as we roll out these new enhancements to increase cargo velocity and tighten coordination across modes of transportation.
The Port of Long Beach has partnered with a leading tech firm, St. Louis-based UNCOMN, to create the Supply Chain Information Highway. UNCOMN is collaborating with Amazon Web Services to provide cloud services and cloud hosting for the data.
Development is focusing on three operational platforms in 2024:
- A Container Track and Trace feature to access up-to-date information about the status of containers moving through the Port of Long Beach.
- The Port Operations Dashboard, where users can review Port of Long Beach operational metrics. The dashboard can be viewed at www.polb.com/operations.
- The Beneficial Cargo Owner Dashboard, where BCOs can access more detailed information about their containers including if they have arrived or departed, and which Port terminal they are at.