Change creates different roles, and requires new skills. While Business Change presents exciting opportunities for the organisation and growth opportunities for the people involved, it also creates uncertainty. People make successful change. Understanding the need for it is essential. Having a vision of the future, and their place in that vision encourages participation and personal responsibility to develop and fulfil their role in the future state.
People
Our deep domain knowledge enables us to quickly evaluate and document your current business process . We use our knowledge of technology to explore ways in which new solutions can transform your business process. Our holistic approach shapes the new organisational processes, identifying the right technology for your business, and the new skills required to succeed. We avoid unintended consequences elsewhere and create better business outcomes in a more efficient, cost-effective way.
Process
Every port and terminal operates within a unique context. The key to successful change lies in understanding how the organisation currently uses technology, and identifying the desired future state. Our holistic approach ensures the right technology selections and a clear roadmap to the target operating model . Digitalisation and change plans should be flexible to accommodate new technology, changes in the operating environment and the emergence of new business opportunities.
Technology
The Three Essentials of Business Change
Years experience in the delivery of Business Change and Technology Delivery projects across diverse Marine, Cargo and Container operations
Maintain business continuity using skilled project professionals with specific domain experience in place of valuable business resources
Our retained services and flexible packages offer you control over IT operations and project costs by accessing the skills you need, only when you need them.
On Demand Resourcing
"McPhee really helped to sell my IT Strategy to my Executive Management Team."
IT Manager
Tier 2 Port, Republic of Ireland
Services we provide
We provide a range of services to support ports and terminals at all stages of the Digitalisation and Business Change process
Information and Technology Strategy
Align I&T strategy with business objectives. Prioritise investments to maximise value and create competitive advantage
Enterprise Architecture
Map business processes, information flows and use of technology across the organisation to make informed business change decisions.
Programme and Project Delivery
Design programmes of work aligned to strategic goals; Use proven IT project methodologies to deliver IT Projects on time and within budget.
Understanding Blockchain: Use Case Evaluation
2022
Undisclosed Client, UK
A client expressed interest in the value proposition of Blockchain for the Port industry, to determine its role in their IT strategy.
Facilitated workshops to a business project team, introducing them to the technology and evaluating activities where blockchain may have applicability.
Outputs from the workshop will inform the next phase of the clients IT strategy development.
IT Strategy Review
2021
Undisclosed Client, Europe
An under-resourced IT Manager experienced challenges engaging senior management in IT strategy and project resourcing discussions.
Reviewed business and IT strategy and provided steps to increase engagement and resources by aligning outcomes with business strategy.
The streamlined strategy and plans clarified business value of IT projects and justified new resource to de-risk and accelerate delivery.
Digital Maturity Assessment
2020
Bintulu Port Authority, Malaysia
The client sought validation of their digitalisation strategy supporting "Net Zero by 2030" ambitions.
Conducted documentation reviews, research and on site evaluation of operational process, supporting technology and company culture.
Findings and recommendations informed evaluation process for the award of the terminal operator concession to ensure capabilities of new occupants to support strategic goals.
Rail Freight Terminal Masterplan
2020
Undisclosed Client, Central Asia
International investors required domain expertise for equipment and technology investments during the Masterplanning process.
Evaluated projections. Advised on terminal layout, labour, equipment and technology servicing three growth phases. Wrote the RFP for TOS procurement.
Deliverables contributed to client acceptance of the Masterplan and retention for the next phase of the project.
Air Quality Improvement Opportunities
2020
UK Major Ports Group
Major UK Ports must mitigate the impacts of port activity on air quality in the area.
Led a research project to evaluate ease, cost and risk of potential actions/solutions. alongside recommended strategies and roadmap for adoption.
Resulting report was distributed to membership. Options to be considered within the individual business context.
International Port Community Systems
2019
Undisclosed Client (International)
A port operator required independent advice on technology stack and product strategy trends in PCS and Customs application.
Evaluated features of several PCS and Customs application products and conducted interviews to understand underlying technology and product strategies.
The content and recommendations in the report informed a full strategic review of their own PCS.
Outbound Mail
2019
Castle Water
The mail room and postal service costs increased exponentially after a business acquisition. Equipment breakdown due to volume processing created unacceptable delays.
Oversaw a project to outsource billing to an industrial print house, capitalising on their economies of scale.
Resulted in annual print/mail savings exceeding £0.5m.
Corporate and Financial Systems Integrations
2018 - 2019
Castle Water
Inherited multiple inter-dependent Finance-related projects, run in isolation, behind schedule and over budget.
Consolidated all projects into one portfolio of work, with cohesive plan, revised budget and deliverables aligned to a specific outcome.
Resulted in the achievement of compliance targets, reduction of technical debt and increased administrative efficiency, including merger of two organisations into one corporate structure.
Interactive Voice Recognition
2018
Castle Water
Intervened in the failed delivery of speech analytics, call routing and telephone payments providing opportunities to reduce cost to serve.
Regrouped the technical team and revised the project plan. Engaged business resources and rebuilt a co-ordinated team to deliver the product into the business.
Successful delivery within weeks improved customer experience and realised significant savings in cost to serve.
Online Quotation / Customer Acquisition
2018
Castle Water
Identified an opportunity to reduce cost to serve by moving customer acquisition online.
Formed a joint project team to develop and run a short term POC in one region. MVP delivered and operational within 12 weeks.
POC demonstrated positive results and supported the business case for further investment to develop a full-scale product.
Data Migration: CRM
2018
Castle Water
Identified compliance issues with the existing CRM that presented a financial risk to the business.
Led a data migration project , transferring 500,000 customer account records into a new CRM system integrated with billing applications.
Resulted in a successful migration to the new platform, undertaken over a several days with no impact on live operations, immediately resolving business risk.
Data Migration (M&A)
2018
Castle Water
Following an acquisition, migrate customer records and historical billing data into Billing and Customer Relationship Management applications.
Work with stakeholders to identify requirements, design and test the migration process, including quality/integrity checks and success validation.
Migration completed successfully in out of hours scenario, with no impact on operations. New customer billing cycle initiated immediately on completion with no issues.
Vessel Traffic Monitoring System
2016
Forth Ports Limited, Scottish Ports
Software and equipment at end of life, coupled with increased flooding events in Grangemouth, highlighted several risks to the business.
Led the team through a process to re-design the network infrastructure, install new hardware and software with redundancy/hot failover capabilities and implement new business continuity plans.
Resulted in operational savings that delivered ROI within four years, and immediately removed the risk to the business and users of the Forth and Tay estuaries.
Container Terminal Efficiency Improvements
2016
Port of Grangemouth
Identified that the Container Terminal efficiency and utilisation figures were lower than expected, resulting in unnecessary over-expenditure in the business.
Conducted a root-cause analysis and took targeted interventions to resolve. Implemented new business processes and monitoring of yard strategy compliance. Delivered extensive training programmes to change operator behaviour and implemented control measures for non-compliance.
At no cost to the business, a noticeable improvement was observed in vessel/vehicle turnaround times, increased yard utilisation and cost savings from reduced equipment travel.
Container Verified Gross Mass (VGM) recording
2016
Port of Grangemouth, London Container Terminal
Compliance with new international law required both terminals capture gross container weights before loading without impact on existing processes.
Developed interface to integrated twistlock/loadcell solution to capture container weight in transit. Modified TOS to store and forward container weight and implemented logic to prevent container load without VGM.
Delivery on schedule ensured compliance with international law. New revenue from this service generated ROI within six months.
BAPLIE EDI Message
2014
Port of Grangemouth
Identified inability to generate BAPLIE as a long-standing customer service issue Due to imminent TOS replacement a low cost interim solution was sanctioned..
Design and implemented new processes tools and functionality to process the inbound and outbound BAPLIE
Resulted in immediate customer satisfaction. Design saved around 50% of weekly man hours using inbound information to improve administrative efficiency during discharge and load planning. ROI within four weeks as a result.
TOS Implementation with EDI
2013-2015
London Paper Terminal, Tilbury
Identified opportunities to elicit cost savings and reduce technical debt.
Led the business and project team in the delivery of new business processes, new system functionality and new electronic messaging between customer and terminal.
Resulted in overall productivity increase and headcount reduction from the consolidation of multiple administrative functions into one central location.
RORO Terminal Process Transformation
2013
Port of Tilbury (London) Ltd
As a result of customer route and scheduling changes a fundamental redesign of terminal operating procedures and supporting TOS functionality was required to retain the customer business.
Led the business in a redesign of operational and administrative processes, system improvements and the introduction of a new customer facing Online Booking system.
Resulted in increased administrative efficiency, faster vehicle and vessel turnarounds and overall increase in profitability and customer satisfaction.
Technical Infrastructure Upgrade
2013
Forth Ports Group
Midway through TOS lifecycle, a scheduled hardware infrastructure upgrade coincided with software upgrades that required to be delivered without business interruption.
Led vendor and internal technical teams in an exercise to understand all component parts of the project and methodically plan a structured four-week programme of work.
Execution without incident enabled the continued use of the application for the remainder of the product lifecycle.
Utility Invoicing Solution
2012 - 2014
Forth Ports Group
The manual process of collecting utility consumption data, calculating and issuing charges was inefficient and error prone, often resulting in re-work to correct inaccurate bills.
Designed and implemented a bespoke billing system with interface to utility provider for direct data capture from Smart meters.
Resulted in significant productivity improvements and improved resource utilisation rates, with overall process reduced from days to minutes. Reduced error rates removed cost of corrective action.
Workforce Management Solution
2011
Forth Pilots, Port of Leith
Identified opportunity to streamline information exchange, reduce risk of errors leading to customer service issues, and prevent storage of company data in third party platforms.
Led stakeholders in the design of new Pilot Scheduling solution for the in the TOS, with outputs to a Mobile Web Application.
Resulted in reduced the risk of errors, improved data security and policy compliance.
TOS Implementation
2011
Nordic Paper Terminal, Chatham
Identified operational risk in a new business acquisition due to an unsupported legacy system at end of life.
Worked with Subject Matter Experts to understand requirements and specify/deliver changes to support the operation of the terminal.
The new software was successfully implemented by the deadline, removing the risk to the business and improving efficiency with new business processes and better system performance.
Operational Process Improvements
2011
Port of Tilbury (London) Limited
Identified opportunities to reduce penalty costs and remedial work generated by operational and administrative failures.
Led the project to redesign business processes, design software enhancements, and train the user base.
Changes improved the overall efficiency of the terminal operation in administrative and operational areas, significantly reduced costs and enhanced the customer experience. ROI within six months.
Container Terminal EDI
2010 - 2016
Port of Grangemouth
Identified cost-saving and efficiency opportunities by replacing of manual data processing with electronic links to the Port Community System.
Onboarded over 80% of the terminal customer base to an electronic messaging solution. Implemented low-cost alternatives for low-volume operators.
Resulted in reduced risk of errors, cost savings through increased administrative productivity, and improved customer experience across the board.
Automated Container Gate
2010
Port of Grangemouth
Identified an opportunity to improve resource utilisation and profitability of the container yard operation by replacing manned exit gates with an unmanned operation.
Designed and implemented an automated gate system with integrations to TOS, including interactive kiosks ANPR and barrier controls.
The unmanned operation achieved the business goals of improved resource utilisation and profitability, and also reduced vehicle processing time which improved the overall customer experience.
Profitability and Costing Suite
2009
Port of Tilbury (London) Limited
Identified opportunities to improve the visibility of profitability at individual vessel operation and customer contract level.
Worked with the business to understand the requirements, and delivered an automated reporting solution comparing all vessel costs with invoice data.
Resulted in immediate ability to identify unprofitable business activity, take action to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Insights also informed contract negotiations.
Weighbridge Integration and Remote Operation
2008 - 2009
Forth Ports Limited, Scottish Operation
Identified opportunities to replace inefficient and error-prone manual batch processing with automated data capture, and improve information for decision making.
Led a project to integrate weighbridges at each site to TOS for real-time updates, and implemented infrastructure and communications to enable remote operation of equipment across all sites.
Resulted in improved customer experience, better decision making, increased administrative efficiency and headcount reduction.
TOS Implementation (Grain Terminal)
2008
Port of Dundee Limited
Legacy software used at the Grain Terminal had reached end-of-life, was no longer supported, and presented a significant risk to business operations.
Led the business in a project to map to requirements to existing system functionality, identify gaps and develop new processes and features for the terminal.
Resulted in reduced business risk, efficiency improvements, and more effective use of administrative resources.
Learning Management System
2008
Forth Ports Group
Identified the need for a more efficient way of distributing training material and delivering system training to a large business with a regular turnover of staff.
Worked with colleagues to convert the contents of a large library of paper-based training material into an interactive e-learning environment
Resulted in a more efficient training capability and enabled Applications Team to focus on delivering user support and new system functionality to meet business requirements.
Central European Reporting System
2007, 2013 and 2017
Forth Ports Limited, Scottish Ports
To comply with EU Directive 2010/65/EU on ship reporting formalities, the need to provide vessel information electronically to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was identified.
On three occasions, worked with the MCA and vendors to develop TOS functionality enabling the capture and forwarding of vessel, crew and cargo information to MCA systems.
Timely deliveries ensured the business avoided financial penalties for non-compliance with EU legislation.
Resource Planning/Recording and Automated Payroll
2007 - 2008
Forth Ports Limited, Scottish Ports
The paper-based workforce planning, time recording and payroll process was inefficient, error prone and challenging to analyse for management insights.
Led the project team, working with stakeholders to implement labour planning and time recording systems customised to meet the unique requirements of each area.
Resulted in increased administrative efficiency. Also provided new insights into labour utilisation, enabling the business to identify opportunities for more efficient use of resources.
EDI Messaging (EDIFACT)
2007 - 2008
Port of Tilbury (London) Limited
Identified inefficiencies and risk in the administrative process to supply manifest information from Shipping Line to the Terminal.
Led stakeholders in the implementation of EDI messages (CALINF, IFTMCS & VESDEP) to automate data exchange.
Resulted in increased administrative efficiency and reliability of information. Real time delivery updates improved customer experience.
HR & Payroll Interface Design
2007 & 2011
Forth Ports Group
Identified opportunities to reduce risk and costs associated with errors by automating data exchange between HR/Payroll systems and TOS.
Led the design and implementation of new interfaces in 2007, and redesigned for new HR/Payroll system in 2011.
Immediately removed the risks and effort associated with the manual transfer. Significantly reduced payroll errors and associated costs.
TOS Implementation (General Cargo Terminals)
2005 - 2006
Forth Ports Limited, Scottish Ports
The organisation required domain expertise to support the delivery of a new strategic Terminal Operating System into general cargo areas in the four main ports of the Scottish Operation.
Worked with stakeholders in each business area to map processes/requirements to system functionality. Defined the new processes, created and delivered system training managed data migration and implementation, including hypercare and transition to BAU.
Resulted in standardisation across all areas which increased efficiency, reduced risks and led to more productive use of business resources.
New Warehousing and Logistics Terminal
2003
Port of Dundee Limited
To meet new customer requirements, the port committed to establishing a stock control and distribution service.
Led the project, building relationships with third party service providers for customs documentation and used available software to design electronic stock control recording and reporting that supported new business processes at no additional cost to the port.
Resulted in a high quality, efficient service that outperformed the previous terminal service provider, reinforcing credibility as a distribution partner and enabling long-term retention of the business beyond the trial period.
Internal Quality Assurance
2001
Port of Dundee Limited
Identified requirement to comply with EU Directive 2001/96/EC for the same loading and unloading of bulk carriers.
Led a project to create new Quality Assurance guidelines, designing new business processes, developing the supporting documentation and training as an Internal Auditor responsible for enforcing compliance.
Resulted in the terminal (and following successful pilot, all bulk handling terminals across the Scottish Operation) becoming compliant with international safety regulations
Port Traffic Management Plan
1999
Port of Dundee Limited
Identified requirement to implement new roads, pedestrian walkways and signage to meet Health and Safety requirements.
Conducted a study of pedestrian and traffic movements throughout the port, identified ideal routes to destination and planned/designed/implemented new signage consistent with national road traffic standards to redirect traffic away from operational areas.
Resulted in significant reduction in the number of reportable incidents, risk mitigation and general safety improvements that contributed to achievement of national safety award.