THE PORT COMMUNITY SYSTEM
105 The Port Community System (PCS) is a neutral and open electronic platform enabling
106 intelligent and secure exchange of information between public and private
107 stakeholders in order to improve the competitive position of the sea ports’
108 community. It is essentially a place for information exchange within a port
109 community, mainly optimising, managing and automating port and logistics processes
110 through a single submission of data, connecting both transport and logistics supply
111 chains. PCSs are being developed by port users for port users and are recognized as
112 the most advanced method for the exchange of information within a sea port
113 infrastructure conglomerate. The wide range of services and key features, which it
114 offers, can be summarised as follows (1):
115 • Easy, fast and efficient EDI information exchange, re-use and centralisation,
116 available at all times.
117 • Customs declarations.
118 • Container electronic handling management of all information regarding import
119 and export of containerised, general and bulk cargo.
120 • Status information and control, tracking and tracing through the whole
121 logistics chain.
122 • Processing of dangerous goods.
123 • Reporting and processing of maritime and other statistics.
124 • Vessel call management.
125 • Gate management.
126 • Security and control.