The facilitating role of IT systems for legal compliance: the case of port community systems and container Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

ABSTRACT

Regulation and competition create increasing pressure on port logistics. This paper analyzes the influence of information technology solutions during the implementation of new mandatory constraints in port operations, specifically the 2014 mandate by the International Maritime Organization on the container Verified Gross Mass (VGM) to enhance maritime and port safety operations. This research takes a multi-method approach including expert interviews to explore twenty-five case studies of VGM implementation. Expert interviews are transcribed and analyzed with cluster analysis tools to determine recurring themes and insights. Data was collected before, during, and after implementation providing a rigorous study. Findings are threefold. Firstly, the study demonstrates that VGM enforcement entails a significant change in the maritime supply chain, subjecting it to an additional mandatory compliance process in the already complex arena of port operations. Secondly, it shows that structuration of port communities through a strong digitalization of data exchange, such as Port Community Systems (PCS), made easier the transition and the compliance toward a new constraining maritime regulation. Thirdly, this work illustrates that theoretically, PCS not only have positive influence on the adoption of mandatory regulation, but also that communication channels, compatibility and infrastructure are key variables to be managed during implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Verified Gross Mass (VGM)
• Port Community System (PCS)
• maritime supply chain
• seaports
• safety
• regulation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. ‘Method 1‘ consists in weighing the packed container using calibrated or certified equipment. ‘Method 2‘: aims to weighing all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other securing material and adding the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses previously listed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laurent Fedi

Laurent Fedi is an Associate Professor at KEDGE Business School. He directed the Maritime Cluster for 8 years. He currently leads different research projects on the evolution of maritime law on safety (VGM, Arctic risks), environmental protection (GHG from ships and seaports), and on port governance in the Mediterranean area. His lectures dealt with maritime law, European competition law and risk management.

Alexandre Lavissiere

Alexandre Lavissiere is an Assistant Professor at École de Management de Normandie. He lectures logistics, transportation, Supply Chain, international business and strategy. His research interests are in international trade, logistics and transportation, free ports, port management and marketing and airport handling. He has been a consultant in strategy for almost fifteen years for several companies and international institutions (World Bank) in more than 20 countries.

Dawn Russell

Dawn Russell is an Associate Professor of Transportation and Logistics at University of North Florida (UNF), and part of the Transportation & Logistics Flagship Program at UNF. She teaches supply chain management, international logistics and foundations of transportation. She regularly intervenes in different professional organizations and notably the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) conference, the Retail Industry Logistics Association (RILA) and Vendor Compliance Federation (VCF).

David Swanson

David Swanson was a practicing logistician for twenty years managing distribution centers and specializing in designing and implementing WMS. He installed systems for many companies notably Canon, Kubota, Walmart and Universal Studios. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of North Florida and his research focuses how firms can translate their information and technology resources into actionable items that improve logistics performance. In 2017 he won both the paper of the year and runner-up paper of the year for the Transportation Journal.