What’s the Latest in Automated Terminal Management

Cyann Fielding finds out how digital processes are changing terminal operations The evolution of terminal management processes has been significant over the past few decades, with the adoption of digital technology and cloud-based software enabling greater collaboration and data sharing across the entire supply chain. ‘While terminal management software has been around since the 1980s, the data in these systems has primarily been siloed to the local terminal or an internal corporate data management platform,’ says Sam Reid, CEO of Dearman Systems. The move from locally-hosted operations to cloud-based has been a significant development. DIGTIAL REVOLUTION ‘Even with the data being siloed, these terminal management systems still helped terminals and their operating companies to automate loading sequences, custody transfer documentation, reporting, and inventory management — resulting in safer terminals and lower administrative costs,’ says Reid. He identifies two major revolutions in digital processes in the past 30 years: the advent of terminal management software in the late 1980s and, more recently, the visibility of terminal orders, transactions, product...