Master Terminal achieves US foothold

Port Otago was Jade Software Corporation's initial customer for its Master Terminal software, which tracks cargo movements in port. Port Chalmers (above) last month played host to container ship Oluf Maersk (left) plus cruise ships Dawn Princess (nearer) and Diamond Princess on the same day. Photo by Craig Baxter.

Jade managing director David Lindsay said Master Terminal was a ''key'' product for Jade, in its suite of expanding products which are penetrating more deeply into wider international markets around the globe.

Aside from customers in New Zealand such as Port Otago, SouthPort, Port of Nelson, Wellington's CentrePort and Tauranga, Master Terminal is installed in 33 terminals around the world, including Italy's largest port, at Genoa, in Iraq, in Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, Gdansk in Poland and the Port of Recife in Brazil.

Mr Lindsay said Port Otago was Jade's initial customer, more than 15 years ago, and the businesses had worked closely on developing the system.

Master Terminal, which was designed to replace paper-based tracking systems, was well-suited to ports handling mixed cargoes, Mr Lindsay said.

The latest contract in the US is with Diversified Port Holdings (DPH) a company with $US2 billion ($NZ2.38 billion) to invest, which is building up large stakes in ports and rail lines across the country.

''This contract is a real beachhead into the States for us. It's a better way of entry than trying to win entry, port by port,'' he said.

Its shipping terminals are in the southeastern United States; with two in Jacksonville, and one in each installed in Mobile, New Orleans and Port Everglades. DPH's decision to use Master Terminal came after a visit to New Zealand last July by five company representatives to review three Master Terminal sites, including Port Otago.

''The five-year contract is sizable in dollar terms and will also allow Jade to expand its footprint in the US and build on existing customer relationships in the market,'' Mr Lindsay said.

He said Master Terminal stood out for DPH because it uniquely suited its mixed-cargo ports, was flexible and was proven to be a highly reliable system.

''DPH is also focused on improving efficiency and competing aggressively for market share, something that Master Terminal will equip them to do,'' Mr Lindsay said.

While tracking containers from gate-entry, to storage and on to the ship, Mr Lindsay said, break bulk cargo, pelletised products, cars and roll-on roll-off cargo could also be traced.

New Zealand ports tended to offer mixed-cargo services and around the world, some of the largest ports were working to capacity and an ''overflow'' of cargo was going to smaller ports, which created opportunities for Master Terminal, Mr Lindsay said.

He said there was more expansion planned in the Middle East, where cargo volumes were in general up 20%, citing car transport's 60% increase as an example.

Africa was also a newcomer for Jade, as its ports had been ''poorly serviced'' in the past, but there were now signs of economic recovery and investment in infrastructure.

Other Jade products include the launch 10-months ago of a new international business to help governments, financial organisations and intelligence agencies fight crime, corruption and threats; with Wynyard operating as a separate business.

The product allowed companies to keep up to date with compliance and regulations, and Wynyard inherited the investigative business from Jade. It identifies fraud and has been used extensively by the police.

It also could identify potential financial risks. The new third product at the time was based on predictive analysis. It has the ability to aggregate large volumes of data and mine it to look for fraud patterns, money-laundering or organised crime shifting money around the world.

-simon.hartley@odt.co.nz