Disruption Defined: The smart port revolution

Imagine that you work for a successful large-scale designer and manufacturer of shipping cranes, an industry workhorse that dots the skyline of many ports globally. Now, imagine that you are tasked with guiding your company through a strategic pivot that involves moving the organization beyond its roots as a pure manufacturer.  

Sounds daunting, right? Yet, that about sums up the task embraced by Song Hailiang, the vice president of China Communications Construction Company and former chairman of ZPMC, the world’s biggest port equipment manufacturer.  

ZPMC’s products are used at 300 ports across more than 100 countries, making the company a key player in global supply chains. In fact, the odds are good that many of the consumer and durable goods you use every day have been hoisted, moved or otherwise handled by at least one ZPMC port crane.     

For all its present-day success, though, ZPMC recognizes that its future depends in no small measure on its ability to build and deliver next generation “smart port” services. Such services enable ZPMC and its customers to retrieve, monitor, analyze and make informed decisions using data gathered from port equipment — all in real time, no matter where the equipment is located.  

On my last trip to Shanghai, I had the opportunity to hear directly from Song Hailiang and see the company’s remarkable transformation first-hand. Whether identifying efficiencies in port operation and management, creating a unified and centralized remote port monitoring and servicing platform, or providing high-caliber industry software development services to customers, ZPMC is making substantive strides toward the digitally-enabled smart port future.   

To learn more about ZPMC and Microsoft's partnership, visit our case study.

"Disruption Defined" is a video series showcasing innovative business leaders who are making digital a competitive advantage for their organizations.