The Port of Long Beach (POLB) has received a hefty sum from the state of California to facilitate the building of new features for its “ Supply Chain Information Highway .”
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The SoCal gateway this month announced that it has received a whopping $7.87 million from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to strengthen the tech tool. Launched in 2022 through a partnership with St. Louis technology firm UNCOMN , the platform allows shippers, ocean carriers, trucking firms and other supply chain stakeholders to track cargo throughout its journey.
The cash infusion will allow the POLB to expand a number of functions, from export and rail cargo visibility to user authentication and data security. The Info Highway will also allow for the exchange of data between foreign ports, as well as insights into truck appointments. Future project enhancements will bolster operational efficiency and customer service, the Port said.
UNCOMN is working with Amazon Web Services to provide cloud services and cloud hosting for the data, it added. Throughout 2024, development will focus on a container track-and-trace feature with up-to-date information about the status of containers at the Port, a port operations dashboard showcasing operational metrics, and a beneficial cargo owner dashboard, where owners can access information about their containers, like whether they have arrived or departed and which Port terminal they are at.
Ultimately, the goal for the tool is to empower stakeholders to simplify scheduling, planning and operational decisions before the cargo arrives at the Port, which will drive cost savings and efficiency during the delivery of goods. The POLB said it’s aiming to make the cloud-based system compatible with other similar data-sharing platforms used across maritime logistics, including those at other major ports.
The streamlining of these processes will help with supply chain resilience and economic competitiveness, the Port believes, along with pushing forward objectives like emissions reduction.
“With six marine terminals at the Port of Long Beach now connecting to a beta version of the Supply Chain Information Highway, we’ve entered a crucial phase of development,” POLB CEO Mario Cordero said in a statement. “We are grateful to the State of California and GO-Biz for their continued leadership in supporting data modernization to bolster goods movement.
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“This funding will be important as we roll out these new enhancements to increase cargo velocity and tighten coordination across modes of transportation,” he added.
Long Beach Harbor Commission president Bobby Olvera Jr. thanked Governor Gavin Newsom for prioritizing the optimization of the state’s seaports in his budgetary framework. “We’re very excited with how this product—free to registered users—will help the more than 200,000 shippers who use the Port of Long Beach better plan and move cargo,” he said.
Newsom’s senior advisor and GO-Biz director Dee Dee Myers affirmed the governor’s stance, saying that “California’s ports are an essential link in the global supply chain and this first-of-its-kind, collaborative data system will help ensure they remain so.”
Other government stakeholders, like State Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Ports and Goods Movement, said the “innovative enhancements” facilitated by the funding will support job creation in California, while Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach said he’s confident the investment “will lead to fewer and more efficient trips and reduce unnecessary idling”—an issue that has historically contributed to significant pollution in the region.
“The Port of Long Beach supports 1 in 5 jobs in this city and millions across the country,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson added. The grant “will improve access to cargo information and help speed the movement of goods to American homes and businesses even faster and more efficiently, strengthening the economy not only here in Long Beach and California, but coast-to-coast.”
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