CHENNAI: Chennai Port Trust and Kamarajar Port, in association with Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Logistics software company Portall, organised a roadshow on Monday to spread awareness about Port Community system (PCS1x), a cloud-based single user-friendly interface platform, to improve the ease of doing business and maritime trade, for export-import trade operators.
P Ravindran, chairman, Chennai Port Trust, said the roadshow was conducted with the objective of sensitizing and creating wider awareness amongst the maritime community and creating a robust Port Community System.
PCS 1x was rolled out in December 2018 – simultaneously at 12 major ports of India. Currently, over 14,000 users exchange the transactions daily, including customs, payments, vessel, cargo and delivery related messages. Ravindran said the adoption of PCS1x would result in marked improvement for the ease of doing initiatives. It will help improved visibility, reduction in time and cost, along with documentation work. The digital solution also aids in improving the payment facility and e-delivery in maritime trade.
The roadshow hopes to speed up on-boarding by the rest of the maritime ecosystem since the platform is designed to handle 27 stakeholder categories and is able to evolve any changes requested by stakeholders. All major trade associations are working alongside IPA and Portall, to improve adoption and address additional requests from the stakeholders, he said. Port Community System (PCS) is intended to integrate the electronic flow of trade related document or information and function as the centralized hub for the ports of India and other stakeholders like shipping lines or agents, surveyors, stevedores, banks, container freight stations, customs house agents, importers, exporters, railways and government regulatory agencies for exchanging electronic messages in a secure manner.