Improvement of old practices such as telephone, fax and cash payment at the counter

Tell us about the background of introducing Cyber Port.

Mr. Fukushima： We considered introducing Cyber Port because we wanted to improve old practices of confirming demurrage, inspection applications and various charges by phone, fax or e-mail, and having customers come to the terminal to pay by cash or check.

For example, in the case of demurrage, there are a lot of exchange communication by fax. We have been doing the old way of checking whether it is correct, confirming the amount, preparing a receipt, coming to the counter and paying by cash or check.

Nowadays, almost anything can be done on the web, I had the sense that we were quite behind the times.

On the Cyber Port web screen, you can now check rates and apply for services anytime 24 hours a day

What kind of initiatives are you currently undertaking with Cyber Port?

Mr. Horigome： We are now accepting inquiries and confirmations of various fees on the Cyber Port Website, which we had previously accepted by phone or fax. Specifically, for import operations, inquiries about demurrage and and plant quarantine fees and applications for various inspections and for export operations, inquiries about fees for changes of ship name, change of landing location, unloading and temporary unloading, and shift fees for various inspections.

In addition, we have made it possible to accept payment by bank transfer for fees that had previously been accepted by cash or check.

It will be very functional and convenient to use this Cyber Port inquiry function, Forwarders can check rates and apply online 24 hours a day without the need for telephone calls.

Mr. Fukushiro： With the conventional method, it was necessary to exchange emails and faxes several times, but if you apply from Cyber ​​Port, customers can complete the entire process from confirming the fee to making the payment by bank transfer, which should make the process easier.

It is well received by Fowarders as "Convenient"

What kind of reactions have you received from Forwarders who are actually using the system?

Mr. Fukushima： From a certain Forwarder, I get the impression that it is very convenient once you get used to it. It is a big advantage that we can check the rates before business starts around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning, you can check the price by yourself and prepare when you apply from Cyber Port WEB.

In addition, instead of having to call each time to give the B/L number, verbally confirm the amount, and prepare the cash/check, we can now confirm the amount on the web, print out the form, send it to accounting, and then accounting can make the transfer.

The business on the terminal side has also been simplified, the phone has stopped ringing, and the burden has been reduced

Has the terminal management workload been reduced considerably?

Mr. Horigome： The number of inquiries via Cyber Port has increased since the beginning, and I feel that my work has become easier. In February 2022, when Cyber ​​Port was first launched, the number of inquiries via Cyber ​​Port was 102 or about 15%, but by September 2022, it had increased to a total of 641 or about 70%.

Mr. Fukushiro： From the terminal operator's standpoint as well, the work has been simplified and the burden has been reduced. In the past, we used to receive paper invoices by e-mail or fax for transfer of freight, issue the invoices ourselves, and send them back to Forwarders, which involved several rounds of communication with customers. With Cyber Port, customers can complete the entire process from application to transfer payment and we only need to confirm the final payment. The volume of emails has also decreased.

Mr. Fukushima： We receive the necessary information electronically from customers via Cyber Port and link it to our system, which eliminates almost all processing on our side and allows almost an automatic flow of information except for payment confirmation. This has eliminated a lot of input work on our side which is very significant.

Mr. Horigome： The number of customers calling or coming to the counter has decreased considerably. Especially in the evening. Even after the counter closes at 4:30 p.m., the phones stopped ringing between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

In terms of call time reduction, in February 2022, 102 applications were made via Cyber ​​Port, which is a trial calculation that saved about 3 hours of phone calls per month. Half a year later, in September 2022, the number of Cyber ​​Port users has increased sixfold, so I think the effect of reducing phone calls will be even greater.

It seems that the use of Cyber Port is very advanced, but what kind of guidance activities did you do to encourage Forwarders to use Cyber Port?

Mr. Fukushiro： In addition to providing information on the company website and by e-mail, our in-house members made a steady effort to promote Cyber Port to customers who called us on the phone, telling them how convenient it was and encouraging them to use it.

Mr. Fukushima： We also studied about the Cyber Port screen that customers operate in advance, and for customers who did not know how to use it, we provided guidelines on how to operate it and acted as a help desk for customers who had trouble.

Were you able to quickly switch the work flow using the internal Cyber Port?

Mr. Fukushiro： That's right. The information entered by customers into Cyber Port is linked to the terminal operation system, but from the perspective of those who do their daily work at the terminal, it can be processed using the same system they are used to, so it was not difficult for them to get used to. However, for those of us who work at the terminal, it was not difficult for us to use the system we are used to.

Mr. Fukushima： Basically, we left the existing in-house system linkage as it is, and created a new screen only for confirming the contents of the customer's application from Cyber Port. It wasn't a lot of work because we just shared the screen operation within the company.

However, we spent a lot of time learning how customers register on the Cyber Port screen, and everyone in the company worked hard to learn how to use the system. Assuming that there would be many customers who would not know how to use the system at first, we spent a lot of time on in-house training to show them how to operate.

We were really the first to use the "Terminal Inquiry Function" of Cyber Port. At that time, the use of Cyber Port was not widespread and it took time to promote its use, but the environment is now in place for terminal operators who will introduce it in the future to do so relatively smoothly.

If the number of terminals and vendors that introduce them increases, the convenience will increase even further

What are your plans for the future use of Cyber Port?

Mr. Horigome： Based on the trends in usage, we have decided to discontinue accepting applications for demurrage fees, various inspections, and fee confirmations by e-mail, telephone, and fax, and to link these applications with those accepted through Cyber Port, starting in November 2022.

What are your expectations for Cyber Port in the future?

Mr. Fukushima： I hope that the terminal inquiry function we have introduced this time will spread to many terminals in Keihin Port. After all, even if only one terminal like ours introduces and systematizes Cyber Port, if other terminals do not introduce it, customers will have to change their workflow for each terminal. If Cyber Port is introduced at Keihin Port as a whole, the customer side will be able to unify their operations, and I think it will be highly effective in reducing their workload.

In the future, if a customer's system and Cyber Port are linked, or if a bank joins like NACCS, automatic debit function is added, etc. I think it will be possible to further promote port DX by making it more convenient.

Please give me a comment at the end!

Mr. Fukushima： I think that the terminal inquiry function of Cyber Port, which we are currently utilizing, is easy to introduce with API linkage to other terminals.

This is very convenient for customers, and for the terminal side, it reduces the number of phone calls we have to make, as well as the data entry of paper and documents received from customers. We hope that the terminal inquiry function will spread to more terminals.