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Today's vast streams of cargo would be impossible without cutting-edge communications technology.
Communications networks are more than the sum of internet connections, email and mobile phones.
Logistic hubs demand highly specialised systems to concentrate and automate the exchange of different
information flows.
In Rotterdam and Amsterdam, these systems have been combined to create Portbase. Early in 2009,
Rotterdam's Port infolink and Amsterdam's PortNET were merged into Portbase. The synergy created by
this joining of forces is obvious. Portbase ("home of logistics intelligence") serves as an open platform for
the exchange of logistic information in the ports of both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Through Portbase's
Port Community System, which reaches beyond the boundaries of any single port, companies stand to
benefit from an impressive array of so-called intelligent services supporting the efficient exchange
of information, both amongst themselves and with government agencies. Participants in the new system
have seen their logistic processes improve quickly because of it. Of course the exchange of information
has also become more efficient. Portbase is a nonprofit initiative of the port community, for the
port community.
Two port authorities laid the groundwork for this cooperative effort between the two largest Dutch
ports. Portbase can count on the support of the ports' business communities. Being at the forefront
of technological development, the community has set the bar high for itself. For Portbase, the ambition is to
make all supply chains in Rotterdam and Amsterdam readily accessible in a single registry, while
simultaneously expanding its reach to include all Dutch ports. Portbase aspires to fulfil a key
position in port logistics networks both in the Netherlands and abroad. To achieve this goal,
Portbase combines port and IT know-how in a working environment that promotes cooperation on
an individual level.
"Today, Portbase is truly a shared tool of the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam," says Portbase managing
director Iwan van der Wolf. "Port infolink and PortNET's support staffs have seamlessly merged
into a single team."
One example of the services offered by Portbase is a free port-wide solution for the extra Customs
obligations that arise from the European Export Control System (ECS) and which will come into force
in Rotterdam and Amsterdam on 31 January 2010. With just five key items of information provided by
exporters/forwarders on their cargo, their export declarations are always validated in a ?watertight'
way. In addition, Portbase gives the client full insight into the location of his/her cargo in the port. This
allows export to be easier than ever. All European exporters and forwarders that export container cargo
via Rotterdam or Amsterdam can benefit from the ECS services, which can be made use of via the Internet or EDI.
www.portbase.com
www.exportcontrolsystem.eu
Portbase: an intelligent way of communicating.
Photo Ben Wind
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