Looking Back: Navigate 2024

Navigate 2024, the event where terminals meet, is the highlight of Teqplay’s activities in the first quarter of 2024. In this article, we are looking back on the best and most insightful parts of the event, as well as looking forward to future maritime activities.

Navigate 2024 brought experts and industry leaders from many parts of the industry together. There was an open atmosphere as attendees had informal discussions on various topics before the start of the presentations.

The event then opened with an introduction from Léon Gommans, Teqplays’ CEO and founder.

Decarbonization and climate change are too big a challenge for any one party. The idea of Navigate 2024 is to contribute & get people together to be inspired, to have a chat. We want to answer questions like: how to make it practical? How can we start acting in our day-to-day business?

Léon Gommans

CEO & Founder of Teqplay

James Wroe, Head of Hub Investment and Digital Transformation from APM Terminals, was our first guest speaker. His presentation emphasized the importance of setting up performance benchmarks in the journey toward operational excellence. APMT and Teqplay’s collaboration aims to address this through leveraging the power of data & technology. This enables visibility and benchmarking for terminal activities, not only of APMT but also that of competitors, giving a lot more clarity for decision-making.

How do you know that you're the best operator? [...] You need to have more than just a statement in your strategy that says "I'm the best". [...] In the lean approach, there is this statement, that there can be no improvement without a standard. If you don't know what the standard is, you can't make improvement.

James Wroe

Head of Hub Investment and Digital Transformation at APM Terminals

Our second guest speaker was Pieter Lek, VP of Digital Solutions at Vopak. Pieter highlighted the complexities of modern port operations, and shed light on Vopak’s journey towards digital transformation together with the challenges encountered.

Together with Teqplay, Vopak has also leveraged external data sources and invited others in the ecosystem to use their data in return, encouraging the development of a single point of truth. This collaborative approach has enabled Vopak to gain insights into vessel movements, optimize berth utilization, and anticipate operational challenges proactively.

You see a lot of complexity in the port rotation. And this is what I also discussed with Léon (Teqplay's CEO): what is port optimization? From whom are you looking to? Everybody has a different view on what port rotation is.

Pieter Lek

VP of Digital Solutions at Vopak

Last but not least is Tom Tissink, Logistics & Loading Manager at Yara. Tom presented the increasing complexity in the planning processes as production evolves. He delved into the challenges posed by high key occupancy, and highlighted the crucial roles of effective optimization tools. Throughout the presentation, Yara’s commitment toward environmental concerns was also emphasized.

We have a high key occupancy. Planning and performance of our key site is absolutely crucial in the ability to load all the products. [...] Together with Teqplay, we have developed this terminal planning tool. Our key site operation planning is now built around this tool.

Tom Tissink

Logistics & Loading Manager at Yara

After the presentations had been wrapped up, attendees enjoyed some delicious drinks and desserts and gathered together for the most engaging part of Navigate 2024: the roundtable discussion.

Professors Albert Veenstra and Rob Zuidwijk from Erasmus University Rotterdam facilitated the discussions around the topic of collaboration in the maritime industry. Each professor moderated a table of about 10-12 participants who represent various perspectives.

Overall, the discussion encapsulates the multifaceted nature of port operations, highlighting the interconnectedness of collaboration, trust, and data-driven insights in driving meaningful progress. It serves as a testament to the industry’s resilience and adaptability in the face of formidable challenges, underscoring the transformative potential of collaborative efforts in shaping the future of port operations and logistics.