Bernd Appel on the Red Sofa: Lufthansa Industry Solutions at the IAPH 2015 in Hamburg
With more than 900 participants from all parts of the world, the 29th IAPH in Hamburg broke all previous visitor records for the World Port Conference, despite the focus on a seemingly rather unspectacular theme: changes in port logistics due to IT. “The digital transformation is sooner or later going to embrace all aspects of logistics”, said Bernd Appel, Managing Director of Lufthansa Industry Solutions. Sitting on the Red Sofa of the “DVZ” trade journal, the IT expert was taking questions from its Editor in Chief, Tim-Oliver Frische. When asked how a company from an aviation group fits into the World Port Conference, Appel answered, “We see ourselves as an IT partner to the port and logistics industries, and can look back at a large number of successful projects in these industries.”
Lufthansa Industry Solutions offers IT services to intelligently manage the logistic processes of maritime industries. This wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG showed how that works using the example of a pilot project for berth planning. “We have developed programs with which the operational processes at airports can be made more efficient. Why shouldn’t this sort of thing work for ships, as well?” said Appel.
Until Friday, June 5, the IAPH 2015 in Hamburg will be devoting itself to the challenges facing maritime industries. Technologies such as the Internet of Things or big data are making the requirements on infrastructure much more transparent for port operators and authorities. In this way, a new, better foundation is being created for planning, monitoring and controlling flows of goods and traffic in ports.