7/18/2023

Day 13

We woke up this morning and headed to the train station. We got there early and on time for our first train; however, we almost didn’t make our connecting train in Madrid. We had about 30 seconds to spare. When we got back, we had our last class session and discussed blog posts and pros/cons of the trip. After our class session, we got ready to go to dinner at CentOnze. It was delicious! We got many tapas, and we all ordered the veal tenderloin. After dinner, Liz and I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

7/17/2023

Day 12

We got to sleep in this morning which was so nice, and a very good start to the day because I felt very rested. We headed to Raminatrans, a logistics company right outside Valencia in Ribarroja. In my opinion, it was one of the best tours we’ve had. Our guide walked us through the whole warehouse, and we got to learn so much about the company. I have attached notes that I took throughout the tour and a picture of the motorbikes that we discussed. At the end of the tour, they gave us a backpack, and they let us keep the visitor vests that we wore. After the tour, we went to lunch at Pata Negra. Professor Jose from the College of Charleston came and met us. It was a good lunch! After lunch, Summer, Liz, and I went to the aquarium. It was so much fun!!! We got to see flamingos, fish, penguins, and much more! After that, we went shopping at Mango, Bershka, and Brandy Melville. We ate sushi for dinner at Nacionsushi. We went home and packed to go back to Barcelona!

Raminatrans Visit

• Logistic operator that connects with Port of Valencia (one of the biggest companies in Spain, started 30 years ago)
• Main function: receive containers from Valencia Port; stock for long periods of time (like a buffer warehouse)
• Got to see containers that store newspapers, televisions, washing machines, dishwasher, etc
• Truck + goods = cannot exceed 42 tons
• Different types of loading machines
• KYMCO
• -Motorbikes from Taiwan and send to seller in box; they have to fix front wheel and other small parts of bike beforehand; they pull out the carton and mount motorbike in this warehouse, so it is finished for sellers *attached picture of the mounted motorbikes
• Has warehouse in Madrid as well as Valencia
• Warehouse has about 89% in capacity
• Zaragoza: special point in Spain; not big population
• -In terms of logistics, Zaragoza is equal in distance between Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Badal; a lot of trade in Zaragoza
• Switched from consuming pam oil to alternate oil, type of sunflower oil
• One building was cold for containers of foods like almonds; 4 times more expensive than the warmer building.
• 70 people work in this warehouse.
• 350 people in the whole company.
• Offices in every main port in Spain.
• Valencia is their largest location.
• Most important problem/waste of the company right now: import of containers; lose competitiveness
• ERP: managing system of warehouse; Microsoft basis, develop special criteria
• What was it like during the pandemic, did the pandemic have an effect/impact on your operations
• Impact on company and operations during COVID

-Office work: can work from home, some people stayed in office with masks and windows open

-The companies had a lot of damage in terms of people contracting covid

-Storage was very full; wanted to deliver but could not

-When everything started opening again, the opposite happened

-In terms of economics: did not invoice anything

-In terms of storage: very full

07/14/2023

Day 9

This morning, we made our way to the Port of València. We had a nice lecture and then got to go around and do a tour. After that, we made our way to the Ibiza airport! Here are notes from the Port of València:

• #1 container port
• Has about 30-60 quay cranes right now
• 1563: El Grau
• The Spanish Port System

-28 Port Authorities

• Their subsidiaries

1. Sagunto
2. Gandia
3. Valencia

-Capacity of 4,000 cars

-About 12-14 container comes in per day

-Turn around time: 24-48 hours

-Each port has its own program

• The Vessel Evolution

-Moving about 24,000 containers now, in 1950s it was only about 500-800

-Top 10 ports are located in China

-Top port in EU: Rotterdam (NL) in 2007, 2021, and 2022

-Top Spanish container port in 2021 was Valencia

• Intermodality

-Valencia is a shareholder of the dry ports

-60% of the containers in the Madrid area are operated through the Port of Valencia

07/13/2023

Day 8

I was up all night sick, so I was not able to attend Fundación Valenciaport. Dr. Gonzalez sent us a video of the lecture and Nik sent us some notes, so we would be caught up. Once I took some Tylenol and went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, I was feeling a little better. By 7:30, I felt even better. I went to get a spray tan with Elizabeth and Victoria since we are going to Ibiza tomorrow. After getting spray tans, Elizabeth and I met up with Matt and Nik at a sushi restaurant called Fuji. It was super good and we got a lot of food. After that, we went back to the hotel! Here are notes from the tour today:

Notes:

• Puerto de Estado

• the public body in charge of the central governments port policies

• valencia port

• port authority is the development and maintenance of the respective maintenance

• the València ports consist of Sagunto, València and Gandia

• Valencia facilities

• container terminals

• a future container terminal

• liquid bulk

• solid bulk

• vehicles and Ro-ro cargo

• passengers

• future passenger terminal

• the future terminals will increase the capacity capabilities of the port

• Northern terminal expansion

• private investments 1,021 million euros

• public investments 400 millions euros

• job creation – 5000 new jobs

• energy self sufficient terminal  aligned with 2023 zero emissions objective

• 98% of the machinery will be electrics and 100% from renewable sources

• on shore power supple

• will take it up to 5 million containers

• Sagunto facilities

• multipurpose terminal

• future multi purpose terminal

• vehicles and Roro terminals

• liquid bulk

• solid bulk

• Tons/type presentation

• 75% of traffic is general containerized goods traffic

• 40% of container traffic is through the València port in the Spanish port authority

• Ranking

• top global container port – #27

• Top European port – #4

• Top container traffic – #1

• Teus load, unload, transit

• #1 in spanish ports

• mixed gate/hub – foreign trade and transshipment port

• 5.6 million TEUs

• Valencia port container traffic:

• doorway to the mediterranean to other countries worldwide

• China is the #1 country of origin/destination of container traffic handled with València

• Container shipping lines in operating in Valencia port

• 3 main alliances

• 2M – Maersk line, MSC

• Ocean Alliance – oocl, cosco, evergreen, CMA CGM

• The alliance – Hapag, ONE, HMM, Yang Ming

• Some other global and regional shipping lines such as sealand, hamburg, etc.

• Mediterranean gate-Hub

• a competitive offer from Valencia port

• In the area of influence of valencia resides half of the spanish population

• generates 55% of the GDP

• Intermodality and railway corridors

• Madrid is largest dry port

• 3 railway corridors and reefers

• Project: zero net emissions

• Energy transitions

• wind and photovaltaica

• installation of 132 KV electrical substation

• use of hydrogen port machinery

• Use of LNG in ships

• clean terminals

• zero im mission terminal in northern expansion

• yard machinery electrified

• zero emission passenger terminal

• environmental bonuses

• Objective 2023 zero emissions

• complementary València – Sagunto rail

• energy self sufficient

• smart port

• intermodal ports/transport centers extended ports

Questions:

⁃ In comparison to the Barcelona port, does the València port or Barcelona handle more international movement? I feel like València location wise would have more of an opportunity but size wise I also feel like Barcelona has the machinery and traffic to move more internationally

⁃ railway comparisons and domestic shipment capabilities in camparison to Barcelona

⁃ Warehouses associated with the the València port

Fundacion Valeciaport Notes:

• Valencia poet knowledge hub in charge of innovation, projects, and running the information system

• who they are

• center of applied research and an innovation training center

• developing projects in other countries

• serves port logistics cluster

• they have their own board of directors

• sea boat lines and universities etc

• innovation and R&D&I projects

• knowledge and management

• cooperation around the world providing technical assistance and promote internationalization

• market intelligence

• supporting the port logistics community and social responsibility strategy

• Numbers:

• 500 partners

• 309 projects

• 60 countries

• Clients

• intl institutions

• government

• exporters and importers

• inland and dry ports

• railway

• Ro-ro

• bulk and multipurpose

• etc

• Team

• over 70

• backgrounds from engineers to lawyers etc.

• 100% technical staff with university degree

• 75% with master or doctorate

• Management

• port maritime

• port planning

• logistics

• integration between port and city

• digitalization

• Market intelligence

• valencia confainerized freight index

• economic environment analysis

• market insights

• port connectivity

• market and sectoral analysis

• demand and traffic

• port planning and management

• strategic and master plans

• port community quality systems

• financial and socio-economic analysis of logistics

• traffic and demand forecast

• provide solutions in regards to port planning in other port systems

• key decisions of Panama canal

• changes in industry

• economic and political changes

• design new terminals etc

• Port logistics

• integrating global supply change

• project planet

• understanding and assimilating global geopolitical and tradI

• I terminal project

• boost digitalization

• they can see efficiency and productivity analysis

• can study where there will be gaps and decide where they can improve

• sustainability and energy transition

• green C ports project

• development and installation of a network of environmental and meteorological sensors to be tested in different European ports and their port city interfaces

• internal users and external users

• H2ports

• starting to use hydrogen

• implementing fuel cells and hydrogen technologies in ports

• first ever implementation of hydrogen technologies in port handling equipment in Europe

• security and protection

• Praetorian

• protection of critical infrastructures from advanced combined cyber security

• digital transformation

• data and artificial intelligence

• Asignat project

• digital twin architecture and machine learning service for road and freight transport planning

• specify and develop a system for calculating and updating the ETA in real time

• design and develop intelligent tools based on machine learning

• implement a global digital twin model

• provide solutions in regards to port planning in other port systems

• Herit Data

• sustainable heritage management towards mass tourism impact thanks to a holistic use of Big and open data

• international cooperation

• digital transformation in efforts of improving the port system in portugal

• CMA-CGM

• project related to how the terminal can reduce emissions to turn to low or zero carbon

• Working Method

• understand needs

• analysis benchmark

• market

• innovation

• project management

• consortiums

• funding

• coordination management and high value activities

• solution developments

• implementation/deployment

• market

• Valenciaport Innovation plan

• zero emissions

• reduce carbon emissions

•

Questions:

⁃ Is there a Valenciano and Spanish language requirements?

⁃ is the zero emissions goal in 2023 something that’s being enforced on the government level or just an effort from the ports themselves?

Opentop project notes:

• Wfforts to make safer, smarter, and more efficient ports

• First steps in open innovation

• many projects to assist in implement open communication between external and internal parties

• digitalization

• trade tech fund

• Combatting climate change projects

• innovation hub of leading port

• 1st Med container traffic

• 1st innovation hub in the Spain port system

• >1M passengers

• Opentop:

• R&D innovation

• read watch and development on innovative concepts for port logistics

• training

• in and with new technologies

• startup incubation and acceleration

• support best startups whike testing technology

• establishing win-win relationships

• venture capital fund

• investment opportunities for companies and funding for start ups

• labs

• ideal environment and infrastructure to test new technologies and their applications to port and logistics business

• programs designed to create connections

• Hackathon

• idea and solution generation

• incubation/acceleration program

• early access to new technologies and business models for the oartner

• access to potential customers

• pilots

• test and pilot technological solutions in a real-world environment

• funding

• investment opportunities in interesting startups

07/12/2023

Day 7

We left the hotel at 7 am this morning to take the train to Valencia. We stopped in Madrid to get on another plane. I did some school work on the train and tried to get some sleep. We finally got to Valencia around 3-3:30 and headed straight to the hotel. We got to rest for about an hour and then we headed to the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. It was absolutely gorgeous! Before this museum, Valencia didn’t have many visitors. Now, many people come to visit Valencia. The architect, Coronado, had a thing for eyes, so one of the buildings was shaped like an eye. The eye is actually able to blink too. The opera house is the most expensive building in the complex. This complex also has an open air club called Umbracle. You are able to go kayaking in the water there. The tour was so fascinating! After the tour, we went to dinner at Le Favole. We went to bed early because we were exhausted.

07/11/2023

Day 6

This morning, we headed to visit the Port of Barcelona. We had a speaker and lecture before we got to go on a private boat. The boat ride was super enjoyable and educational. We got to see many vessels and some cruise ships. We also got to see the castle of Madrid from the boat, a historical reference for the city. We also got to see 12 original cranes. We learned that they receive liquid gas from the US. Many of the cars come from Asia. In terms of performance, turn around time is better for the city. After the boat tour, we went to lunch at El Raco Del Cargol. It was good but it was so much food! After we ate, we headed to Operinter for our second lecture of the day. It was very interesting, and they made us sandwiches! Then, we went back to the hotel and did school work. After we did school work, we went and ate dinner for our last night in Barcelona.

Port Visit

• What makes a port a port?

-location with water and vessels

-main characteristics: calm waters bc you need a space where you can operate the vessels

-owner of the land is the state

-manager of the land: government agency

• The port’s mission

-added value to surrounding economy

-increase competitiveness to users

-provide logistic solutions end-to-end from the existing ones

• IV Strategic Plan 2021-2025

-environmental: energy transit

-economic: competitiveness

-social: human capital

• Fast fashion

-Zara

-new clothing about every two weeks

• Fracking

-forbidden in europe

-way to produce gas in US

 

Operinter Visit-Alonso Group

*sustainability

-we watched videos on sustainability logistics

-reduce waste->decrease packaging

• Services

-transportation solutions

-warehousing and distribution

-80 offices

-diversification *Pharma

-picking and packing: prepare the final order

-many National and international offices

• Internship and career opportunities

-always looking for talent all over the world

 

07/10/2023

Day 5

Our first visit today was a lecture on logistics management at the Universitate Autònoma de Barcelona. It covered the concept of logistics, the different parts of logistics, the importance of logistics, and the main problems of logistics today. We started off talking about several definitions for logistics and logistic management. Two of the main goals in logistics is to reduce cost and time in the most efficient way possible. The two most important objectives in logistics are efficiency & stability. We discussed a chart that explained the 7 R’s of logistics and where we currently are and where we are headed. The 7 R’s are the right time, place, price, product, quantity, customer, and condition. We got to watch a video that walked us through the transportation process for DHL. It showed a lot of how machines and technology are taking over the jobs and processes in logistics. I asked the speaker if he thought the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of technology taking over in logistics. He said that technology is the future of logistics and it makes companies much more efficient. He said it is difficult to say if they do, but that some technological advances actually provide some jobs even though some are being lost. We discussed a lot about transportation. Globally, 70-90% of all products are transported by sea. Road transportation is the most used transportation in Europe. We looked at a map with transports in the USA. The size of the line is related to the type of transport. As well as being the most important economic part of the US, there are also more transports in the north than the other parts. We also looked at the freight types in comparison for DHL as well as transit time vs transportation cost. The freight types shown were truck, boat, train, and plane. It showed that the plane is the fastest but most expensive, and the boat is the slowest and also least expensive. On the line graph that showed transit time vs transportation cost, the cost reduces as the time increases. He talked to us about the types of cargo ships, and told us that the bulk carrier is most important type of ship. We discussed the supply chain and some of the challenges. Some of the challenges in 2023 include increasing freight prices, shortage of raw materials, port congestion, inflation, digital transformation, supply chain ESG, and demand forecasting. I asked him what he would say is the biggest challenge in the world right now, and he said that sustainability is like climate change. He mentioned that bicycles in the city are unbeatable because they are eco friendly, fast and flexible. We also watched a video on Amazon’s Smart Warehouse. The video explained that deep learning AI helps with what customers would want to buy when looking when they log on to Amazon. We discussed the term gigantism which means to construct more and more big ships. We looked at the trend towards gigantism in maritime transport. He showed us the maritime traffic map website, and the colors represent the type of ship. After the lecture, we headed to La Pepa where the group lunch was. We ate patatas bravas, salad, and anchovy toast. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and had class. Dr. Gonzalez talked to us about lean tools. After class, I worked on the school assignments.