Port Of Rotterdam Gets Smarter With Help From Blue Prism’s Intelligent Digital Workers

If a user lives in Europe, everything from the petrol in the car to the muesli on the breakfast table has likely come through the port of Rotterdam. In one year, roughly 30,000 ocean-going vessels and 100,000 inland navigation vessels sailed in and out of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

To maintain its vitality, the port is continuously improving from maintaining infrastructure to rethinking operational processes aiming to become the smartest port in the world. To do this, it enlisted a Blue Prism intelligent digital workforce.

Challenge

The port of Rotterdam is considered a vital infrastructure to the Netherlands. It is the largest port in Europe and the tenth-largest in the world.

Since the port is vital to the nation’s infrastructure, it needed to meet strict security and auditing protocols

The port adds 46.5 billion euros to the Dutch economy and employs 385,000 workers. When dealing with logistics on this scale, operational efficiency is key. The port needed to run processes 24 hours a day, seven days a week without errors. And, since the port is vital to the nation’s infrastructure, it needed to meet strict security and auditing protocols.

Location data cumbersome to collect

The port faced a specific challenge when the Netherlands altered tax legislation relating to shipping. If a vessel spends 70% of its time outside of territorial waters, it is considered a seagoing vessel and the shipowner does not owe value-added tax (VAT).

The tax authority now wanted proof, for 30,000 vessels. This would require the Port of Rotterdam Authority to reach out to agents for each of its customers with a potentially bothersome request for ship location data statements.

Digital workers guarantee a smooth process

Data scientists at the port developed a model based on an automatic identification system (AIS) ship location data

Data scientists at the port developed a model based on automatic identification system (AIS) ship location data. The model can calculate how much time a ship has been out of territorial waters. A Blue Prism digital worker can quickly access information for each vessel at port and determine an appropriate VAT rate.

As a result, employees only contact a very limited amount of agents for more information, rather than all of them, improving the customer and employee experience while ensuring the data is accurate. 

Increased efficiency, and accuracy

Digital workers are currently operating in seven different departments and running 36 processes in HR, finance, shared services, and port operations.

Digital workers have delivered increased efficiency, cost savings, and accuracy. Employees have shared their enthusiasm for and satisfaction with their digital colleagues. They are freed from repetitive tasks and have the opportunity to do work they enjoy like conducting inspections and port maintenance.