Introduction

Our research will analyse existing legislation on inland ports digitalisation and will look into available cutting-edge digital tools, technologies and systems which can support inland ports on their paths of increased efficiency and sustainability.

As part of our research, we will produce the digitalisation masterplan to showcase how digitalisation can simultaneously increase operational efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of inland port operations.

Download our inventory of good practices

We are pleased to introduce our inventory of good practices at EU and international level, containing 22 cases of inland port digitalisation with a specific focus on the benefits in terms of efficiency and environmental impact of applied digital tools.

This report presents a comprehensive overview of good practices in inland port digitalisation, drawing insights from 22 case studies sourced from both European Union (EU) and international contexts. Through a thorough approach of desk research and stakeholder interviews, the report showcases innovative digital tools and technologies deployed by inland ports worldwide.

Desk research formed the cornerstone of the investigative process, involving an extensive review of literature, reports, and case studies, complemented by online resources dedicated to inland port digitalisation. This methodological approach facilitated the identification of potential case studies and provided background information on the digital tools and technologies under scrutiny.

Interviews were conducted with representatives from a range of inland ports where contact was established with port management. These interviews shed a light on the implementation process, challenges encountered, highlighted key learnings, and explained the environmental ramifications of digitalisation.

Digitalisation: Inventory of good practices at EU and international level

Further reading and results

In addition to our inventory of good practices, we are pleased to present several further results from our research.

1. The Gaps and barriers in the development and implementation of digital tools report looks at gaps and barriers affecting the development and the inclusion of digital tools and applications at port administration/authority level and at port community level. An analysis was made consisting of a desk research coupled with a thorough literature review, a survey with over 30 responses and a small number of interviews targeting expert interviewees representing multiple inland ports.
2. Additionally, we produced an Inventory of port cooperation and collaboration systems, digital tools and applications to assess their effect on greening and economic sustainability. This document provides an overview of the existing digital tools and technologies designed for use in inland ports and investigates their suitability as tools to meet both green and economic objectives.
3. Finally, a Catalogue of upcoming projects, tools and technologies evaluates the potential of digitalisation to facilitate the greening of port operations and to reduce the overall environmental footprint of port activities.

Take a look and download our gaps and barriers report, the inventory of digital tools and a the catalogue of upcoming projects below:

Gaps and barriers in the development and implementation of digital tools

Inventory of digital tools

Catalogue of upcoming projects