ARL e-Schedule platform allows transport companies publish online their own schedules and schedules from carriers they use. The platform offers various ways of building and publishing schedules for transport networks. Let's outline the major features of the platform.

Building schedules

Service points. The first step in building your own schedule is to list the service points in your transport network. These could be cities, pick-up points, any named locations which are known to your clients.

Services. A service combines certain service points for future linking by corridors. There could be one-way services and circular ones.

Rotations. Each service should have at least one rotation defined. Rotation is a sequence of service points visited by transport vehicle. Rotations can follow some time pattern and can be daily, weekly, etc.

Legs. Every leg within a rotation should have its own schedule for arrival, departure and pick-up/availability times.

Corridors. Once all service points are connected and timing is defined it is time to set the actual transport corridors out of all possible combinations we would like to be visible to your clients.

Last step is to publish the schedule on your website by embedding a small HTML code and watch the schedule requests log in the back office of the platform.

Importing schedules

This feature is made for the companies which utilize carriers transport, e.g. forwarding companies. If there is a carrier schedule available in e-Schedule, then it can be reused and published as forwarder's own with maybe different pickup and delivery cut-offs. All service points, rotations, legs and corridors definitions will be imported automatically. The forwarder can always limit the offering from the carrier by deselecting those corridors which he doesn't want to offer. The schedule from the carrier will stay updated automatically. 

Extra features

Pick-up and delivery points. If your company offers door-to-door service then you would need to define all possible areas or points from where you can pick-up the cargo. So you can define all neighbour cities or regions with appropriate transit times and connect them to service points in your schedule. Same goes for the delivery points. All these connected points and areas will be visible in the schedule request form.

Linked points. What if you have a local regular connection from one of your own or imported service points to some neighbour locations? You can define these linked points with their own transit times for import/export flow and let them be visible in the public schedule wizard.

ARL e-Yield Suite - an online solution for all types of transportation companies - now supports multiple currency. That means all subscribers of ARL e-Quote and e-Book can now select not only the main currency they use in their books but also some local currencies their customers are used to.

The list of available currencies contains 48 entries starting with U.A.E. Dirham (AED) and ending with South Africa Rand (ZAR). All cross rates are updated daily.

ARL e-Yield Suite users can set price in any of these currencies for their transport services as well as for other items, such as surcharges and value offerings.

arl-shipping.com has created a demo DVD for ARL Berthing Planner and its add-ons. The DVD includes:

• short introduction video;
• long video with application functionality demo. Note that you need to be connected to internet in order to watch this video;
• deployment scenarios for container, bulk, and multipurpose terminals;
• fliers of other arl-shipping.com products.

If you'd like to receive your free ARL Berthing Planner demo DVD, please fill the web-form online and we will send you a copy by postal mail.

Many container terminals strive to optimize their resource usage via better planning and distribution of them in space and time. Optimization was already very much in demand during busy times last years - and it has even more priority now, when economical crisis is affecting volumes terminals are dealing with.

However, due to the natural complexity of the planning at container terminals, solving optimization task is a challenge even with modern hardware and sophisticated algorithms. You have to consider at the same time berthing, human resources, different equipment types on the yard and on sea side, their dependencies, used assignment practices, and so on. Perhaps, difficulty is the reason why many IT providers do not look into this area. But not ARL Consulting.

Last year we solved complex vessel berthing optimization problem. The next step for ARL was to optimize RTG deployments. We aimed to optimize the number of RTGs in use, to make streamlined RTG work order distribution faster, and to provide instant RTG dispatching. And we succeeded – now we offer you solutions for automated RTG planning and dispatching based on actual demands of operational planning.

ARL has created an optimization algorithm suitable for container terminals with medium to high volume of RTGs, varying need for yard equipment, and high load of moves. To guarantee minimal number of RTGs and minimal overall mileage we selected Hungarian algorithm as the basis for optimal work orders distribution between RTGs. This algorithm among other factors takes into account time required for RTG dispatching using yard geometry and driving rules (including time required for wheels turning) and uses RTG and containers data TOS provides.

ARL solutions for RTG management answer in real time the following questions:

• How many RTGs you have to deploy to move containers on time?
• Where and when to place each RTG to minimize driving distances and maximize moves per unit?

ARL is piloting the algorithm in 2009.
See more information in ARL RTG Calculator&Dispatcher flier.

In 2008 ARL Consulting attended a lot of relevant transport conferences and exhibitions. We had been asked a number of times to participate as speakers; below you can see the list of presentations we did. All of them are available online.

June 2008, 6th Asean 2008 In Ho Chi Minh.
 Download PDF version. View presentation online.

October 2008, Port & Terminal Technology 2008. Ports and Terminals Efficiency Tools.
 View presentation online.

November 2008, 6th International Freight Forwarders & Logistics Cooperation Forum. e-Business for Transport Providers.
 View presentation online.

November 2008, 4th Trans Middle East 2008 Uae Exhibition And Conference. Cargo Transport e-Pricing and Price Unbundling.
 View presentation online. View booth presentation online.

This deployment scenario describes how a marine multipurpose terminal operator can use ARL Berthing Planner to make planning faster and more efficient.

Multipurpose terminal is a marine facility, where vessels of multiple types are serviced; cargo is loaded to and discharged from vessels, using different means depending on the vessel type. The cargo is transferred to or from the shore storage facilities or barges. Busy multipurpose terminal with a long quay side operates around the clock. The staff has to change plans according to vessel schedules changes, agreements with vessel operators, and their own technical procedures and limitations

Once Berthing Planner tool is properly configured the planning process runs in WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface with a drag-and-drop mode. The easiest way to plan is to use fully automated mode, where all berthing positions are set with operator's single click. In the semi-automated mode operator locks certain vessels in place and lets Berthing Planner position the remaining vessels automatically.

Supporting Multipurpose Terminals. The tool distributes all vessels respecting all known constraints. For example, vessel types are known when ETA/ETDs are imported, so arriving vessels are placed depending on handling gear they need and storage constraints. In manual mode constraints are also taken care of. When operator moves any vessel in time or along the berth, valid placement is highlighted in green and invalid in red color.

Managing Sea Side and Berth Constraints. Berth configuration is saved in Berthing Planner setup with all characteristics such as berth names, draught, bollards, tides, and more. Sea Side Constraints feature visually displays the draught available for all vessels within the planning horizon. Berth Constraints feature shows all berth or handling gear under repair areas as "berth unavailable zones" both in time and space. Whenever automated re-planning takes place or the operator makes changes manually, Berth planner checks all the constraints automatically.

Re-planning when ETA/ETD changes. The Berthing Planner imports vessels schedules from existing data sources, e.g. a port information system, via a neutral XML or CSV file interface. All schedule changes are automatically read by the Berthing Planner and the berthing plan is refreshed every time operator makes changes manually or using full automation mode. Multiple berthing scenarios can be also evaluated in parallel.

Handling Gear Planning. The Quay Crane planner add-on manages allocation of berth or barge mounted handling gear, with limited or unlimited mobility within the berth. The Quay Crane Berthing Planner add-on assigns cranes to individual vessels in visual mode. The tool keeps track of assigned gear and only offers to assign gear which is not assigned to other vessels yet. Operator generates a handling gear assignment report for a specified time period, and distributes the report to his colleagues by email.

Planning Terminal Resources. The Resource Planner Add-on has a set of pre-defined multipurpose terminal resource types as well as some generic resource types, ready for use. The pre-defined resources are easily extended by the operator. Terminal resource types include cranes, ramps, gangways, stevedores, security officers, tugs, bunkers barges, inspectors and customs officers. The resources are visually assigned to vessels or organized in pre-set shifts. Resource assignment reports are distributed to stakeholders or exported in XML-format for detailed resource planning in an external system, for instance an LMS.

ARL Berthing Planner supports operations of a multipurpose terminal operator in the berthing and resources planning process. It allows the operator to:

• automate the planning process,
• optimize time and resources utilization for the port stay,
• evaluate multiple berthing scenarios when resources are limited,
• exchange data with other people and IT systems without retyping.

In this issue:

• Optimizing operations at container terminals
• Building sophisticated transport networks in ARL e-Schedule
• Deploying Berthing Planner for multipurpose terminal
• Supporting multiple currency in ARL e-Yield Suite
• Events 2008. Summary.
• Request your free Berthing Planner DVD