Digital readiness index assessment towards smart port development

Abstract Digital technologies receive more and more attention in the maritime transport sector. Large ports such as Rotterdam or Antwerp are already heavily investing in digital databased technologies and thus, continue to rely on a sustainable expansion of these advanced technologies that promise security, process optimization and sustainability. Conversely, especially smaller ports have no or limited knowledge on what Industry 4.0, IoT and Blockchain are and what potentials they may have. Nevertheless, without the inclusion of small and medium-sized ports, the innovative idea towards a smart port development stays unachievable. Related to this, there exist a lack of concepts and models for measuring the digital performance of ports. Without such tools, it is impossible to audit the digital status of ports and to derive a concrete strategic roadmap for the digital transformation of ports. Accordingly, in this study, the research questions will be investigated, how the digital performance of ports can be assessed, and which strategic recommendations can be derived for ports regarding a sustainable development towards a smart port. Building upon the received qualitative data that were gathered through an online survey and IT based expert interviews, a digital readiness index for ports is applied in case of five selected seaports. The results will show that building upon the benchmarking and indexing of the ports, the current strategic positioning of the ports becomes apparent. Through this, the respective strategic recommendations for a sustainable development towards a smart port can be derived in accordance to each port classification.