How technology can advance port operations and address supply chain disruptions

Supply chain disruptions continue to be a significant challenge as the world economy recovers from the pandemic-related shutdowns that have strained global supply chains. Shocks challenge the adaptability and resilience of maritime ports. The reaction of automated container terminals to supply chain disruptions has renewed interest, given the dramatic scenes of ships anchored for weeks. In this dissertation, I provide a vision of how technology can enhance a port’s ability to anticipate and handle shocks by improving coordination, cooperation, and information exchange across port stakeholders. The vision will be helpful for academics and practitioners to perform research that advances theory and practice on the use of advanced technologies to improve port operations. I use complex adaptive systems theory to develop a qualitative cross-case study of the ports of Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Rotterdam. I examine the effect that automation and other technologies have had on the efficiency of these ports, both in daily operations and during the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using critical tenets of complexity and with a rigorous application of the case study method, I develop theoretical propositions and practical insights to ground the vision of the port of the future based on current practices. The findings from the cross-case study suggest that automated terminals were more efficient during the pandemic than non-automated terminals. I propose that transitioning to higher levels of automation, supported by emerging technologies like blockchain and the internet of things, will make ports more resilient to supply chain disruptions when those systems are coordinated through Port Community Systems

Opportunities for the logistical competitive advantages of Finnish cobalt produced for the European electric vehicle market : Case study: Latitude 66 Cobalt Oy

The downsides of the electrification of the automotive industry are the sustainability and responsibility issues in the international supply chains of critical minerals, especially cobalt, contained in the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles. The activities are highly concentrated for more than half of the world’s cobalt is mined as a by-product in Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in mines mainly controlled by Chinese operators, where the general problem is labour abuse. Based on the above issues, three main objectives have been defined for this thesis: to clarify the backgrounds and prospects for cobalt need in the battery industry, to identify requirements, standards, and development directions of cobalt supply chains transparency and traceability of mineral origin, and to demonstrate the logistical competitive advantages of cobalt mined and refined in Finland compared with cobalt mined in Congo and refined in China. The European electric vehicle industry has been selected as the target market for the study. The case company of the thesis is Latitude 66 Cobalt, aiming to produce traceability requirements meeting cobalt in Finland for the European electric vehicle market. This thesis is a management science study that has applied an analytical decision-making process. The study has been carried out by mapping the material flows of cobalt and creating two comparable supply chain scenarios based on them, the Nordic scenario and the Chinese-controlled scenario. The scenario-based comparison has been carried out with three indicators measuring transports performance: transit time, greenhouse gas emissions, and transport costs. Uncertainties in the indicators have been considered and their impact on the research results has been highlighted in the sensitivity analyses conducted by Monte Carlo simulations. Based on the literature review findings, despite new innovations in battery technology, the demand for cobalt seems to continue to grow towards the end of the decade. The planned requirements for improving the transparency of supply chains and the traceability of mineral origin for companies targeting the European market may be a challenge for the current main producing countries but, on the other hand, an opportunity for Finnish cobalt production. Considering the uncertainties, the quantitative analysis of the study shows that the logistical competitive advantages in favour of Finnish cobalt production are 72%–78% in transit time, 77%–82% in greenhouse gas emissions, and 51%–70% in costs.Autoteollisuuden sähköistymisen varjopuolia ovat sähköajoneuvojen voimanlähteenä käytettävien litiumioniakkujen sisältämien kriittisten mineraalien, erityisesti koboltin, kansainvälisten toimitusketjujen kestävyys ja vastuullisuus ongelmat. Toiminta on hyvin keskittynyttä, sillä yli puolet maailman koboltista louhitaan sivutuotteena Keski-Afrikassa, Kongon demokraattisessa tasavallassa, pääosin kiinalaisten toimijoiden hallinnan alaisissa kaivoksissa, joissa yleisesti tiedossa oleva rasite on työvoiman väärinkäytön ilmentyminen. Edellä mainittujen ongelmien pohjalta tälle tutkielmalle on määritelty kolme päätavoitetta: selvittää taustat ja tulevaisuuden näkymät koboltin tarpeelle akkuteollisuudessa, tunnistaa koboltin toimitusketjujen läpinäkyvyyteen ja mineraalialkuperän jäljitettävyyteen liittyvät vaatimukset, standardit ja kehityssuunnat, sekä osoittaa Suomessa louhitun ja jalostetun koboltin mahdolliset logistiset kilpailuedut verrattuna Kongossa louhittuun ja Kiinassa jalostettuun kobolttiin. Tutkimuksen kohdemarkkinaksi on rajattu Euroopan sähköajoneuvoteollisuus. Tämän tutkielman case yritys on malminetsintäyhtiö Latitude 66 Cobalt Oy, jonka tavoite on tulevaisuudessa tuottaa Suomessa jäljitettävyysvaatimukset täyttävää kobolttia Euroopan sähköajoneuvomarkkinoiden tarpeisiin. Tämä tutkielma on johtamistieteellinen tutkimus, jossa on sovellettu analyyttista päätöksentekoprosessia. Tutkimus on toteutettu kartoittamalla koboltin materiaalivirtoja ja luomalla niiden pohjalta kaksi keskenään vertailukelpoista toimitusketjuskenaariota, pohjoismainen skenaario ja kiinalaisten toimijoiden kontrolloima skenaario. Skenaariokohtainen vertailu perustuu valittuihin kuljetusten suorituskykyä mittaaviin indikaattoreihin: kuljetusaika, kasvihuonekaasupäästöt ja kuljetuskustannukset. Indikaattoreiden sisältämät epävarmuustekijät on otettu huomioon ja niiden vaikutus tutkimustuloksiin on tuotu esille Monte Carlo simulaatiolla tehdyillä herkkyysanalyyseillä. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen löydösten pohjalta voidaan todeta, että huolimatta akkuteknologian uusista innovaatioista, koboltin kysyntä näyttää jatkavan kasvuaan vuosikymmenen loppuun päin mentäessä. Suunnitellut toimitusketjujen läpinäkyvyyden ja mineraalialkuperän jäljitettävyyden parantamisvaatimukset Euroopan markkinoille tähtääville yrityksille voivat olla haaste nykyisille päätuottajamaille, mutta toisaalta mahdollisuus suomalaiselle kobolttituotannolle. Epävarmuustekijät huomioon otettuna tutkimuksen kvantitatiivinen analyysi osoittaa logistiset kilpailuedut suomalaisen kobolttituotannon hyväksi 72–78 % kuljetusten, 77–82 % kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen ja 51–70 % kustannusten osalta

Storage Solutions for Big Data Systems: A Qualitative Study and Comparison

Big data systems development is full of challenges in view of the variety of application areas and domains that this technology promises to serve. Typically, fundamental design decisions involved in big data systems design include choosing appropriate storage and computing infrastructures. In this age of heterogeneous systems that integrate different technologies for optimized solution to a specific real world problem, big data system are not an exception to any such rule. As far as the storage aspect of any big data system is concerned, the primary facet in this regard is a storage infrastructure and NoSQL seems to be the right technology that fulfills its requirements. However, every big data application has variable data characteristics and thus, the corresponding data fits into a different data model. This paper presents feature and use case analysis and comparison of the four main data models namely document oriented, key value, graph and wide column. Moreover, a feature analysis of 80 NoSQL solutions has been provided, elaborating on the criteria and points that a developer must consider while making a possible choice. Typically, big data storage needs to communicate with the execution engine and other processing and visualization technologies to create a comprehensive solution. This brings forth second facet of big data storage, big data file formats, into picture. The second half of the research paper compares the advantages, shortcomings and possible use cases of available big data file formats for Hadoop, which is the foundation for most big data computing technologies. Decentralized storage and blockchain are seen as the next generation of big data storage and its challenges and future prospects have also been discussed

Blockchain’s Roles in Meeting Key Supply Chain Management Objectives

Arrival of blockchain is set to transform supply chain activities. Scholars have barely begun to systematically assess the effects of blockchain on various organizational activities. This paper examines how blockchain is likely to affect key supply chain management objectives such as cost, quality, speed, dependability, risk reduction, sustainability and flexibility. We present early evidence linking the use of blockchain in supply chain activities to increase transparency and accountability. Case studies of blockchain projects at various phases of development for diverse purposes are discussed. This study illustrates the various mechanisms by which blockchain help achieve the above supply chain objectives. Special emphasis has been placed on the roles of the incorporation of the IoT in blockchain-based solutions and the degree of deployment of blockchain to validate individuals’ and assets’ identities

Blockchain-Based Digitalization of Logistics Processes—Innovation, Applications, Best Practices

Blockchain technology is becoming one of the most powerful future technologies in supporting logistics processes and applications. It has the potential to destroy and reorganize traditional logistics structures. Both researchers and practitioners all over the world continuously report on novel blockchain-based projects, possibilities, and innovative solutions with better logistic service levels and lower costs. The idea of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of the status quo in research and possibilities to effectively implement blockchain-based solutions in business practice. This Special Issue reprint contained well-prepared research reports regarding recent advances in blockchain technology around logistics processes to provide insights into realized maturity

Sustainability in the digitally optimised maritime industry

The increasing volumes in global maritime trade are associated with accumulating stresses and adverse effects on the environment. Measures such as stricter regulations and renewed legislation are implemented to pivot the industry towards global sustainable development goals. While the end goal of achieving carbon neutrality remains problematic and slow-going, several short-term solutions could be found. This study aims to explore how digitalisation can support the sustainable development of the maritime industry, focusing primarily on enhancing port efficiency. The purpose of the study is divided into two sub-questions: what are the sustainability impacts of the maritime industry, and how could digitalising port calls impact shipping emissions? The study's theoretical framework consists of three large concepts; sustainability, digital transformation, and the maritime industry's complexity, particularly the port operations, are discussed. The research method used in this study is quantitative, as the research problem is best addressed by processing numerical data. The results of the study are in line with previous research, indicating that optimising the port operations and reducing waiting time could have significant impacts on CO2 emissions. Lowering the CO2 emissions leads to the sustainable development of the environment and economic and social sustainability as the cost savings have the potential to reach billions of USD and have positive effects on social well-being. While change on a global scale may not be viable to implement due to development maturity, more realistic scenarios, such as a change in top 30 GDP countries, depict the ability to implement digitalisation and JIT shipping effectively and at scale. By leveraging their current infrastructure and economic capabilities, these countries alone could produce significant sustainability impacts while remaining competitive. To tackle the global issue of climate change, the decision-makers should thus invest and incentivise the maritime actors to optimise their operations that directly lead to the industry's sustainable development.Maailman meriteollisuuden kasvuun liittyy lisääntyviä stressitekijötä ja haitallisia ympäristövaikutuksia. Toimenpiteitä, kuten tiukempia määräyksiä ja uudistettua lainsäädäntöä, toteutetaan, jotta ala saataisiin kohti globaaleja kestävän kehityksen tavoitteita. Vaikka lopullinen tavoite hiilineutraaliuden saavuttamiseksi on edelleen ongelmallinen ja hidas saavuttaa, voidaan useita lyhyen aikavälin ratkaisuja ottaa käyt-töön. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten digitalisaatio voi tukea mer-iteollisuuden kestävää kehitystä keskittymällä ensisijaisesti satamatehokkuuden paran-tamiseen. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on jaettu kahteen alakysymykseen: mitkä ovat meren-kulkualan kestävän kehityksen vaikutukset ja miten satamatoimintojen digitalisointi voi-si vaikuttaa merenkulun päästöihin? Tutkimuksen teoreettinen kehys koostuu kolmesta suuresta käsitteestä; kestävästä kehityksestä, digitaalisesta muutoksesta ja merenkulkualan, erityisesti satamatoimintojen monimutkaisuudesta. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään kvantitatiivista menetelmää, sillä tutkimusongelmaan voidaan parhaiten pureutua analysoimalla numeerista dataa. Tutkimuksen tulokset ovat aiempien tutkimusten mukaisia, ja ne osoittavat, että sa-tamatoimintojen optimoinnilla ja odotusajan lyhentämisellä voi olla merkittäviä vaikutuksia hiilidioksidipäästöihin. Hiilidioksidipäästöjen vähentäminen johtaa ympäristön kestävään kehitykseen sekä taloudelliseen ja sosiaaliseen kestävyyteen, sillä kustannussäästöt voivat saavuttaa miljardeja dollareita ja vaikuttaa myönteisesti so-siaaliseen hyvinvointiin. Vaikka globaalin mittakaavan muutos ei välttämättä ole toteut-tamiskelpoinen sen kehityksen kypsyyden vuoksi, realistisemmat skenaariot, kuten muutos 30 parhaan BKT-maan joukossa, kuvaavat kykyä toteuttaa digitalisaatio ja just-in-time (juuri ajoissa) tehokkaasti ja laajamittaisesti. Hyödyntämällä nykyistä infra-struktuuriaan ja taloudellisia valmiuksiaan nämä maat yksin voivat tuottaa merkittäviä kestävyysvaikutuksia pysyen kilpailukykyisinä. Ilmastonmuutoksen maailmanlaajuisen ongelman ratkaisemiseksi päätöksentekijöiden olisi siten investoitava ja kannustettava merenkulun toimijoita optimoimaan toimintaansa, mikä johtaa suoraan alan kestävään kehitykseen

CD/CV: Blockchain-based schemes for continuous verifiability and traceability of IoT data for edge-fog-cloud

This paper presents a continuous delivery/continuous verifiability (CD/CV) method for IoT dataflows in edge¿fog¿cloud. A CD model based on extraction, transformation, and load (ETL) mechanism as well as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) construction, enable end-users to create efficient schemes for the continuous verification and validation of the execution of applications in edge¿fog¿cloud infrastructures. This scheme also verifies and validates established execution sequences and the integrity of digital assets. CV model converts ETL and DAG into business model, smart contracts in a private blockchain for the automatic and transparent registration of transactions performed by each application in workflows/pipelines created by CD model without altering applications nor edge¿fog¿cloud workflows. This model ensures that IoT dataflows delivers verifiable information for organizations to conduct critical decision-making processes with certainty. A containerized parallelism model solves portability issues and reduces/compensates the overhead produced by CD/CV operations. We developed and implemented a prototype to create CD/CV schemes, which were evaluated in a case study where user mobility information is used to identify interest points, patterns, and maps. The experimental evaluation revealed the efficiency of CD/CV to register the transactions performed in IoT dataflows through edge¿fog¿cloud in a private blockchain network in comparison with state-of-art solutions.This work has been partially supported by the project “CABAHLA-CM: Convergencia Big data-Hpc: de los sensores a las Aplicaciones” S2018/TCS-4423 from Madrid Regional Government, Spain and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Project “New Data Intensive Computing Methods for High-End and Edge Computing Platforms (DECIDE)”. Ref. PID2019-107858GB-I00; and by the project 41756 “Plataforma tecnológica para la gestión, aseguramiento, intercambio preservación de grandes volúmenes de datos en salud construcción de un repositorio nacional de servicios de análisis de datos de salud” by the PRONACES-CONACYT, Mexic

Review of the Energy and Social Impact of Bitcoin Mining and Transactions and Its Potential Use as a Productive Use of Energy (PUE) to Aid Equitable Investment in Solar Micro and Mini Grids Worldwide

Despite the climate commitments made by countries in the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in 2015, and reinforced during COP 21, world carbon emissions have increased in both 2021 and 2022. It is increasingly unlikely that the world can achieve the targeted 50% carbon reduction by 2030; the reduction approximately needed for reducing global temperature rise since the beginning of the industrial revolution to less than 1.5 deg. C. At the same time, the carbon intensive loads associated with bitcoin mining have grown, thereby contributing to growing worldwide carbon emissions. In this context, the role of cryptocurrency and particularly bitcoin is reviewed from energy and social perspectives. Revealed is the value of a truly neutral and secure currency to much of the world. Also revealed is a growing trend toward powering cryptocurrency miners with renewable energy. In this context, an opportunity for leveraging cryptocurrency, and particularly bitcoin, to fuel investment in solar micro- and mini grids. A number of cases are posed to demonstrate this potential throughout the world and at multiple scales. These include: i). existing microgrids with significant stranded energy to generate income which could be used to reduce the cost per kWh for the community; ii). new solar microgrids optimized to meet community load and mining operations; (iii) solar microgrid powered water purification systems in water scarce communities; (iv) dedicated solar powered bitcoin mining mini grids developed solely to create a funding stream for self-investment of communities for their benefit; and (v) numerous applications where bitcoin mining inclusion in micro- and mini grids can effectively seed microgrid development in places where such investment is not yet feasible. All of these projects are shown to be impact investment worthy

New techniques to integrate blockchain in Internet of Things scenarios for massive data management

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorNowadays, regardless of the use case, most IoT data is processed using workflows that are executed on different infrastructures (edge-fog-cloud), which produces dataflows from the IoT through the edge to the fog/cloud. In many cases, they also involve several actors (organizations and users), which poses a challenge for organizations to establish verification of the transactions performed by the participants in the dataflows built by the workflow engines and pipeline frameworks. It is essential for organizations, not only to verify that the execution of applications is performed in the strict sequence previously established in a DAG by authenticated participants, but also to verify that the incoming and outgoing IoT data of each stage of a workflow/pipeline have not been altered by third parties or by the users associated to the organizations participating in a workflow/pipeline. Blockchain technology and its mechanism for recording immutable transactions in a distributed and decentralized manner, characterize it as an ideal technology to support the aforementioned challenges and challenges since it allows the verification of the records generated in a secure manner. However, the integration of blockchain technology with workflows for IoT data processing is not trivial considering that it is a challenge not to lose the generalization of workflows and/or pipeline engines, which must be modified to include the embedded blockchain module. The main objective of this doctoral research was to create new techniques to use blockchain in the Internet of Things (IoT). Thus, we defined the main goal of this thesis is to develop new techniques to integrate blockchain in Internet of Things scenarios for massive data management in edge-fog-cloud environments. To fulfill this general objective, we have designed a content delivery model for processing big IoT data in Edge-Fog-Cloud computing by using micro/nanoservice composition, a continuous verification model based on blockchain to register significant events from the continuous delivery model, selecting techniques to integrate blockchain in quasi-real systems that allow ensuring traceability and non-repudiation of data obtained from devices and sensors. The evaluation proposed has been thoroughly evaluated, showing its feasibility and good performance.Hoy en día, independientemente del caso de uso, la mayoría de los datos de IoT se procesan utilizando flujos de trabajo que se ejecutan en diferentes infraestructuras (edge-fog-cloud) desde IoT a través del edge hasta la fog/cloud. En muchos casos, también involucran a varios actores (organizaciones y usuarios), lo que plantea un desafío para las organizaciones a la hora de verificar las transacciones realizadas por los participantes en los flujos de datos. Es fundamental para las organizaciones, no solo para verificar que la ejecución de aplicaciones se realiza en la secuencia previamente establecida en un DAG y por participantes autenticados, sino también para verificar que los datos IoT entrantes y salientes de cada etapa de un flujo de trabajo no han sido alterados por terceros o por usuarios asociados a las organizaciones que participan en el mismo. La tecnología Blockchain, gracias a su mecanismo para registrar transacciones de manera distribuida y descentralizada, es un tecnología ideal para soportar los retos y desafíos antes mencionados ya que permite la verificación de los registros generados de manera segura. Sin embargo, la integración de la tecnología blockchain con flujos de trabajo para IoT no es baladí considerando que es un desafío proporcionar el rendimiento necesario sin perder la generalización de los motores de flujos de trabajo, que deben ser modificados para incluir el módulo blockchain integrado. El objetivo principal de esta investigación doctoral es desarrollar nuevas técnicas para integrar blockchain en Internet de las Cosas (IoT) para la gestión masiva de datos en un entorno edge-fog-cloud. Para cumplir con este objetivo general, se ha diseñado un modelo de flujos para procesar grandes datos de IoT en computación Edge-Fog-Cloud mediante el uso de la composición de micro/nanoservicio, un modelo de verificación continua basado en blockchain para registrar eventos significativos de la modelo de entrega continua de datos, seleccionando técnicas para integrar blockchain en sistemas cuasi-reales que permiten asegurar la trazabilidad y el no repudio de datos obtenidos de dispositivos y sensores, La evaluación propuesta ha sido minuciosamente evaluada, mostrando su factibilidad y buen rendimiento.This work has been partially supported by the project "CABAHLA-CM: Convergencia Big data-Hpc: de los sensores a las Aplicaciones" S2018/TCS-4423 from Madrid Regional Government.Programa de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología Informática por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Paolo Trunfio.- Secretario: David Exposito Singh.- Vocal: Rafael Mayo Garcí