During the Milan 2025 event held on 5 and 6 November, the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority received the SMAU Innovation Award in the category dedicated to Public Administrations, in recognition of the “Intermodal Appointment Project”.
The annual international meeting brings together start-ups, corporations, investors and public institutions to discuss the latest developments in digitalisation and innovation across all the major manufacturing and service industries.
The Intermodal Appointment Project, submitted by the Port Authority, redefines ICT management of incoming/outgoing and transit of heavy duty vehicles across the Port of Genoa. This digitalisation process commenced in 2004 with the introduction of the Port Community System, the high-capacity electronic platform integrating the multiple systems used by all the major players actively involved in the transport and logistics chains operating in the Port of Genoa. Over the years, the Port Authority has intensified and expanded the use of its E-port system to the road haulage industry, including gate in/gate out management and real-time truckload/shipment arrival notifications, thereby cutting road transit times across the port terminal area and streamlining truck operations overall, with no paper documents required.
Safety is also a byword of the Intermodal Appointment Project. The IT system integrated into the PCS makes it easy for truck drivers to plan ahead, pre-book their place at the terminal of destination, submit documents and go through security control operating procedures without leaving their cabin. At the heart of this digital transformation is the development of a mobile application “Viaggio digitale” (“Digital Journey”), a data-sharing platform which supplies in real-time information on the driver, the vehicle and the designated shipment/truckload. The app is dedicated specifically to road hauliers and is already operational across the Port of Genoa.
The recent cloud-migration of the system to the National Strategic Hub, the new cloud infrastructure for Italy’s public administrations, has consolidated the reliability and adaptability of the digital infrastructure, thereby paving the way for the extension of the system to all commodity sectors (not just container traffic), and to the Ports of Savona and Vado Ligure. The project, compliant with government AGID (Agency for Digital Italy) guidelines, aims to develop a solution designed to be scalable and replicable, and with the capability of integrating the systems of multiple ports and operators.
The SMAU Innovation Award recognises the value of an initiative which applies a range of technological assets to the complex world of the port industry, offering the Ports of Genoa as an Italian model for best practices.
