During the meeting, Secretary Pritzker highlighted the Port Community Information Technology Systems Exhibition and Technology Challenge that will be hosted by USC and the Department of Commerce. The event will take place in Los Angeles on November 18-20. Supply chain stakeholders, members of port communities, system providers, leading researchers, and talented teams of technology innovators will compete for a $15,000 prize. The goal of this competition is to help U.S. seaports and stakeholders develop and use port information-sharing technologies in the United States.
In closing, Secretary Pritzker also announced her plan to institutionalize four regional port stakeholder dialogues in the 2017 fiscal year. This plan will ensure regular communication among all of the stakeholders in the supply chain.
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
I want to thank you once again for coming to this roundtable, and for the valuable insights and input that you have shared with us today.
We may reach out to you individually after today’s roundtable to ask you for more details on the issues you have raised. We will use the lessons learned and best practices that you have shared with us today to develop our December report on best port operating practices. Individual U.S. seaports and their stakeholders can use this report to improve their operations and efficiency, as appropriate to their specific needs and circumstances.
As we close today’s event, I want to tell you about two exciting announcements.
As our first project together under the MOU that we are about to sign, USC and the Commerce Department will hold a Port Community IT Systems Exhibition and Technology Challenge here at USC on November 18-20.
To avoid port and cargo disruptions, U.S. ports must be able to implement port community IT systems that permit real time sharing of critical cargo information among all participants in the supply chain. Our goal through this combined exhibition and hackathon is to showcase a number of potential technology solutions that U.S. ports and their stakeholders can use to address their congestion problems.
I have asked my Department’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competiveness to send me a list of maritime cargo status data elements that should be shared among ports and their shippers and stakeholders, which will be finalized later this month. Participants in the hackathon will use this list to develop concepts for digital port platforms to help ports more smoothly move cargo through U.S. supply chains.
If you are interested in participating in the technology competition or serving as a technical expert or judge, please take this opportunity to talk with our USC colleagues here today, or contact Jeff Weiss from my team for more information.
Today, I am also pleased to announce that the Commerce Department plans to institutionalize port stakeholder dialogues like this one. I think all of us here today can agree that we need to do a better job of ensuring regular communication among all of the stakeholders in the supply chain.
Every port has different needs and challenges - but each stands to benefit from learning about best practices other ports and stakeholders have implemented to improve the flow of cargo, remove barriers to communication and collaboration among the various actors in the supply chain, help address equipment shortages, and enhance cooperation among state and municipal agencies and ports.
Based on the feedback we have received from port stakeholders, it is clear to us that these dialogues add real value across the supply chain community. We believe it is important that this discussion continues even with the upcoming change in Administration.
I have approved a plan to institutionalize these dialogues, relying on partnerships with local stakeholders. In Fiscal Year 2017, the Department is planning to establish at least four regional roundtable partnerships. Based on my assessment of the value they deliver to port communities, I fully expect that number to grow.
All around the world, countries are making investments in their ports. We cannot afford to fall behind – because our country’s economic competiveness is dependent on the efficiency of our ports.
Together, we must ensure that our country has the strong logistical backbone needed to keep up with today’s rapidly changing global economy. Thank you.
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