Webb Fontaine Identify PCS As Necessity for Sustainable 24Hr Port Operations

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

Leading global trade technology company, Webb Fontaine has identified the Port Community System as a critical platform for achieving and sustaining 24 hour port operations in Nigeria.

Operations Director of Webb Fontaine Nigeria Ltd, Vlad Ionescu who spoke at the recently held fifth edition of the JournalNG Port Industry Town Hall Meeting in Lagos spoke on the need for government and private sector players in the port ecosystem to integrate for improved efficiency.

Ionescu said “the port community system is a platform that brings together all the actors that are working inside the ports. Basically, what it does is giving a single point of entry for all the documents that are needed in the process and it is dispatching these documents to the agencies that need them”

He talked about Webb Fontaine’s impact in using technology to challenge established practices and deliver innovative solutions for trade facilitation across various countries.

He explained that Webb Fontaine is building unique expertise in trade and customs to help governments, businesses and economic communities globally rethink and transform the way they conduct trade.

Also speaking at the event , Webb Fontaine Nigeria Limited  manager in charge of installation, Lanre Balogun said the Port Community System has helped to achieve seamless interactions between systems used by the port authority, customs and terminal operators from data exchange and logistics through billing and payment.

Balogun making his presentation at the event

Balogun who gave an illustrative explanation of the PCS said all port processes under the Webb Ports regime enjoy speedy processing from electronic manifest declaration through electronic payment of all duties and fees; space booking for delivery and loading preparation; e- release for cargo exit authorisation and cargo movements management and follow up.

He also listed the benefits of PCS for stakeholders to include complete paperless procedure, optimisation of cargo transit time, tracing of operations and activities done in the system, promotion of transparency and accountability, optimisation of logistics chain, all of which push the reduction in physical contacts leading to reduction in the cost of doing business.

The operational philosophy of Webb Fontaine is in sync with the dynamics of trade facilitation and ease of doing business; and whose partnership is regarded highly and respected by several critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime and port industry.

At the recent inaugurated Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee, Managing Director of , Dr Abubakar Dantsoho disclosed that the agency is working closely with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to deploy the Port Community System (PCS), which he described as a backbone for the National Single Window.

He stressed that PCS will eliminate paperwork and reduce human interface, thereby improving transparency, reducing cost, and boosting efficiency and revenue generation.

“The Port Community System cannot happen unless everyone put heads together, it would help us in eliminating to a large extent, the idea of paper transactions, which means we are going to save more money, we would increase capacity and be more efficient, and the revenue would be higher.

“The Port Community System is a precursor to the National Single Window; the National Single Window is for the entire nation while the PCS is for the maritime community. We need to have the capacity to plug into the NSW.

“I am happy to announce that we are making progress. The Port Community System cannot happen unless everyone put heads together, it would help us in eliminating to a large extent, the idea of paper transactions, which means we are going to save more money, we would increase capacity and be more efficient, and the revenue would be higher.

“The Port Community System is a precursor to the National Single Window, the National Single Window is for the entire nation while the PCS is for the maritime community. We need to have the capacity to plug into the NSW” NPA MD said.