The trade and logistics industry is one of the four pillars of our Hong Kong economy, contributing a significant share in terms of both GDP and employment. Facing ever-growing demand from customers for shorter lead time, the port of Hong Kong has been striving to remain efficient amid fierce competition from its neighboring ports. To succeed, it is not enough to only rely on a few major players but requires a high level of collaboration among all port users including liners, forwarders, terminal operators, shippers, truckers, etc.
The known causes hindering port efficiency are overwhelming paper-based processes and an almost lack of effective communications among port users. With full comprehension of these underlying problems, many visionary port authorities and port communities around the world — like Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Singapore — started developing port community systems decades ago, with the objective to safeguard the common interest of their respective port communities. These port community systems enable effective communications among stakeholders and avoid wasted efforts on repetitive tasks of little or no value. Experiences at these ports have shown significant efficiency gains.
In Hong Kong, a similar initiative was brought up by Kwai Tsing terminal operators including Hongkong International Terminals Limited (HIT), Modern Terminals Limited (MTL), and COSCO-HIT Terminals (Hong Kong) Limited (CHT) in an effort to safeguard Hong Kong’s competitive edge. In February 2003, they founded OnePort Limited (“OnePort”) with a view to strengthening the competitive position of Hong Kong as a logistics hub through the provision of information and related services. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited, which equally embraces the purpose of OnePort’s establishment, later became one of the shareholders.
The trade and logistics industry is one of the four pillars of our Hong Kong economy, contributing a significant share in terms of both GDP and employment. Facing ever-growing demand from customers for shorter lead time, the port of Hong Kong has been striving to remain efficient amid fierce competition from its neighboring ports.
Since its establishment in 2003, OnePort has been serving the port community by providing electronic services tailored to operational needs. OnePort facilitates the collaboration of various groups of port users by connecting them and helping them modify their complex operations processes. The efficiency of the industry as a whole is further enhanced by the establishment of OnePort’s EDI center, which connects three major Hong Kong container terminals, a vast majority of shipping lines, and a considerable number of freight forwarders. OnePort supports a substantial number of registered customers including all Hong Kong container terminals, over 100 shipping lines, 24,000 shippers & freight forwarders, over 4,000 trucking companies, and about 300 barge operators. These hard works lay a solid foundation for the future development of the Hong Kong logistics industry.
Philip Ho, CEO of OnePort Limited
Hong Kong has long been one of the busiest and most efficient international container ports in the world. Like many long-established port cities, Hong Kong is navigating through unprecedented times amid the rising tides of digitization and decarbonization.
Going smart and going green have become the impetus for improvement in the Port of Hong Kong, as part of the game plan in enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international transportation center, while its success relies on the collective effort of industry stakeholders and the government to pull it through.
OnePort is thankful to play a part in digital transformation by providing community-wide platforms and services to the port community in Hong Kong. We have been working with the port community in the digitalization of all facets of export, import, and transshipment workflow at the Port of Hong Kong, supporting our customers in adapting to changes to paperless operations along the way.
We are also actively working with government bodies and associations in initiatives of connecting Hong Kong with other ports in the Greater Bay Area.
Going smart and going green have become the impetus for improvement in the Port of Hong Kong, as part of the game plan in enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international transportation center, while its success relies on the collective effort of industry stakeholders and the government to pull it through.
In days to come, the integration of Hong Kong into the Greater Bay Area will bring the city to a new height, forming an important port cluster in southern China — a highly integrated bay area on par with other top bay areas like San Francisco, Tokyo, and New York.
On the regional front, a closer partnership with other Asian ports, like Singapore, in the maritime industry will bring significant advantages to the cities and contribute to the development of the region as a whole.
OnePort Limited
9/F, Warehouse Building Phase I, Berth One, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong
www.oneport.com
[email protected]
www.youtube.com/@oneport7055
