An Analysis of Digital Transformation in the History and Future of Modern Ports

Digital transformation is of utmost importance in the business world with major impacts on any of its sectors. Here we consider ports and logistics within maritime shipping to exemplify those developments. That is, as actors in world-wide supply chains, seaports are particularly affected by technological change. Due to the high requirements in the logistics sector, e.g., regarding costs, efficiency, security, and sustainability, digital innovation is essential to stay competitive. Past developments show how digital innovation can shape the modernization of ports. In order to understand future challenges in this area, it is inevitable to review the outcomes of past developments and their impact on port operations. In this paper, we provide an extensive analysis of digital transformations in seaports. We identify three generations and analyze the stages of respective digital transformations using a well-known model from literature. Based on the observations, we identify important aspects and challenges.