Use of the Blue Ocean Strategy to obtain ports 4.0

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by a high level of digitalization of systems and processes. This revolution has reached the Spanish ports. They have been investing for years in the implementation of new technologies, aimed at promoting sustainability and environmental quality, as well as seeking a more efficient and orderly logistics. Ports are moving towards their digital transformation, which is materialized in the well-known Ports 4.0. These intelligent ports, or Smart Ports, cover a multitude of aspects and variables. Automation, digitalization, technologies that allow interoperability, transparency, decentralization, and customer experience define the context of the application of the concept 'Ports 4.0' to the Spanish logistics-port sector. How to achieve a satisfactory digitization process that allows progress towards Port 4.0 in the Spanish port system is one of the questions being raised recently. The Spanish port world could be represented by a red ocean, since in a very generalist way it can be said that it is a marked described by a fierce competition lacking in differentiation. Therefore, with this proposal, the aim is to take the Spanish port system to a blue ocean, where a suitable strategy and innovation generate leaps in value that make competitors irrelevant because customers compare different products and services. To be able to respond to this, the Blue Ocean Strategy is planted, leaving aside the competition between ports and generating new demand. From the study carried out, it is concluded that Spanish ports still have a long way to go in terms of sustainability. It also concludes that a new management model would mean the innovation in value that is necessary for the process towards ports 4.0.