How the ICN advances
sustainability

Connectivity is fundamental to ports being sustainable.

Ports and multimodal areas have traditionally been seen as necessary evils; spewing out pollution and negatively impacting the people who live in the surrounding areas.

But they don’t have to be.

Progressive thinking ports like the UIPA are leading this shift by demonstrating that ports can operate sustainably and have a positive impact on local communities while fostering economic growth and opportunity for those serving the nation’s supply chain.

It is for this purpose that the ICN was created.

Fundamental to this endeavor is connectivity. You cannot change what you cannot measure and without access to high speed, private LTE/5G, collecting even the most basic data required to achieve sustainability goals is next to impossible. And yet, ports and multimodal hubs are frequently located in areas where wireless access is unreliable (in fact, 40% of ports in the US have little to no wireless connection at all). This makes measuring environmental data costly, intermittent and outdated. It also contributes to immediate issues that hinder the efficient movement of cargo on the ground, contributing to bottlenecking and port back ups.

QuayChain enables this connectivity and provides visibility into the environmental data required to shift to greener, more sustainable practices and provides the foundation ports need in order to begin their path to sustainability.

Data Supports the Path to
Sustainability

Shifting an ecosystem requires accurate, timely and trusted data.

Like the UIPA, sustainability is one of QuayChain’s core values and for us, it goes beyond environmental stewardship. It means building resilience in the industry we serve. Operating sustainably in today’s complex supply chain encompasses being able to adapt as events and information change–this is the essence of resiliency. The supply chain’s information changes in real time. The delayed relay of information due to data black holes means a delay in situational awareness. During times of volatility, whether it is due to climate events or a global pandemic, supply chain operators are forced to be reactive, rather than strategic. Reactive mode reduces opportunities to focus on the future and hinders adaptability and resilience.

Paramount to enabling the supply chain to make essential changes is the access to a secure, well maintained, dedicated infrastructure at key locations where equipment data is captured and verified. This contributes not only to real-time adjustments with immediate impacts on supply chain flow, but is essential to making longer term plans for a greener supply chain. Unification of this information ensures that companies are not working with siloed data but rather approach the ecosystem as a “gestalt” to meet the industry’s goals.

Data from a trusted source.

Systems change requires data from trusted sources. QuayChain’s independence and solution enables that trust. QED provides several ways to confirm accuracy with data categories that are already used in the supply chain ecosystem. At the ICN, connectivity and QED’s edge processing will empower ICN port tenants and their customers to make informed decisions, even in increasing unpredictability.

In addition to real-time equipment data, the ICN will also capture baseline data focused on driving sustainability for ICN customers and ports. This, coupled with AI, means information will surface and validate previously unseen connections to inform future planning approaches.

Some ICN possibilities around
sustainability