Digitalization strategies and evaluation of maritime container supply chains
Business Process Management Journal
ISSN: 1463-7154
Article publication date: 25 October 2022
Issue publication date: 13 January 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study proposes practical digitalization strategies and well-grounded evaluation criteria for maritime container supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors identified the status of supply chain digitalization of the Port of Busan in South Korea and developed three digitalization strategies based on industry requirements and consultations with port experts. The authors proposed 11 evaluation criteria for examining the main digitalization strategies in the supply chain operations reference model, based on a survey among 46 experts and used multi-criteria decision-making approaches to prioritize the strategies and evaluation criteria.
Findings
The results delineate the status of the digitalization of a real-world port-focal supply chain. The model can be successfully customized to include well-grounded evaluation criteria for digitalization strategies, and presents a practical way to advance the supply chain digitalization strategies. Based on the survey and evaluation, the authors find that increasing data accessibility and improving quality are preferred to adopting a data and information sharing platform.
Research limitations/implications
As the study is limited to the Port of Busan, future case studies could be undertaken to container supply chains driven by different regional ports.
Practical implications
Stakeholders, such as truckers, terminal operators, and shipping liners, might consider the proposed strategies and evaluation criteria when digitalizing their supply chains.
Originality/value
By identifying the needs and specifications of maritime container supply chain digitalization strategies, developing evaluation criteria, and conducting a case study for proof of concept, the study proposes an operational management process with practical, real-world benefits for port-focal supply chains.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors greatly appreciate that Mr. Jeeho Ryu, an administrative official (Grade 5) of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea, clarifies the research problem and improves practicality. This research was supported by a research grant (Basic 2021-14) from the Korea Maritime Institute. This research was also supported by a grant from R&D Program (PK2202C3, Development of core technologies for digital rail freight stations) of the Korea Railroad Research Institute.
Citation
Seo, J., Lee, B.K. and Jeon, Y. (2023), "Digitalization strategies and evaluation of maritime container supply chains", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-05-2022-0241
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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