Container Terminal Management System

Container Terminal Management System

Container terminals are very complex and also highly capital intensive. They have to be well managed in order to realize their potential capacity and to deliver a reasonable level of efficiency and service performance to their customers. A good management system cannot be done without IT system(s) – in case of container terminals it is a normally a TOS system.

The advancement of IT provides a wide range of options for the container terminal operator to computerize its management systems. Basically, it can range from a simple data entry and retrieval system to a highly sophisticated computer directed real-time operation system with automation options. The choice depends on the size and capacity of the terminal, the operational setup and its projected growth in medium term.

A container terminal management system is also known as a terminal operating system (TOS) which aims to control the overall movement and storage of various types of cargo (in this case container) within a container terminal.

A container terminal management system enables container terminals to make better use of its assets – labour and equipment – and to get promptly (or real-time) information, which allows more timely and cost-effective decision making. Modern and large container terminals are managed by TOS systems, in order to cope with the high complexity of business processes and supply chain requirements.