Port of Tauranga

New hi tech service benefits Port of Tauranga customers

Posted on 17th October 2005

In a first for the New Zealand port industry, Port of Tauranga today launched “Shuttle Select”, an internet-based scheduling service which gives importers control over their container delivery times to the MetroPort inland port in Auckland.

Using specialist scheduling software, Shuttle Select allows customers to pre-select delivery times for each of their containers arriving at MetroPort from Port of Tauranga by train.

This so-called ‘multiple constraint scheduling’ software is based on a series of constraints, such as the weights and time limits of trains and containers, and the arrival times of ships. The result is a detailed plan for each train leaving Tauranga bound for MetroPort, including a delivery time for each individual container on board.

By logging onto a website customers have the ability to adjust the individual container delivery times to suit their own deadlines.

Manager of the Port’s Sulphur Point Container Terminal, Mike Pohio, says the introduction of Shuttle Select can be likened to the impact of online ticket booking systems on airline ticketing.

“Our customers will now have complete control over when they want their imported goods to arrive, enabling them to better plan their own unloading and distribution processes and prioritise urgent deliveries”, he said.

The software was tailored especially for the Port of Tauranga by The Kinetic Management Company, also based in Tauranga. The software was first developed in 1993 in the UK and is well utilised across a range of industries worldwide, including Vienna Airport for its logistics planning to schedule aircraft to specific gates, and in the Australian mining industry to schedule stockpile storage before loading onto ships.

Overseas users of the software have reported up to 50% reduction in inventory, and up to 80% improvement in on-time delivery performance.

For more information please contact:

Mike Pohio
Manager, Sulphur Point Container Terminal
Port of Tauranga Limited
Phone 07 572 8851