Simulation and virtual reality: this is the new education in logistics

Ports,  the essential partners

Regarding the ports, eight are involved in YEP MED. Barcelona and Valencia (Spain) , Autorità Portuale Mar Tirreno Centro Settentrionale (Italy), Port de Marseille-Fos (France), Damieta Port Authority (Egypt), Office de la Marine Marchande et des Ports (Tunisia), Aqaba Development Corporation (Jorda)  and the Beirut Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (Lebanon).

"The development of trade has changed enormously in recent years. Purchasing patterns and the configuration of shipments have also changed. Export and import operations have multiplied and ports are the hubs for dispatching and receiving physical goods. They are therefore changing their configuration, especially in their logistics activity zones. This new type of shipping requires new added value in cargo handling," says Eduard Rodés.

Port-logistics companies are beginning to form part of these environments, with departments and professionals dedicated to innovation. Generating spaces and opportunities to test these disruptive solutions is not a simple decision, Rodés assumes. However, investing on risk based on trust, commitment and cooperation benefits all parties. 

"The Port of Barcelona is well aware that this is a very important collaborative tool, whose reach and impact is enormous. Rapid obsolescence means we have to constantly reinvent ourselves," he reflects.

A framework for international and inter-port collaboration and cooperation

The Port Virtual Lab platform is the common learning framework for the 7 Mediterranean countries participating in the project: Spain, Italy, France, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan. Students work remotely and virtually in international teams. The teaching staff is also from these countries.

Although the trigger for the project is its implementation in the Mediterranean region, the potential and scope of the simulation goes beyond.

Rodés explains that a delegation from the Escola, which will also represent the Institut de Logística de Barcelona and the University of Barcelona, will travel to Thailand at the end of October on a mission organised by the Port of Barcelona to establish agreements with local institutions. 

The aim is to introduce simulation in universities and vocational training centres to virtualise future export and import operations between the two countries, in collaboration with FETEIA, the Spanish Federation of Freight Forwarders. 

He adds that in October the Escola, represented by the University of Barcelona, will attend the congress organised by the Federation of National Associations of Freight Forwarders and International Logistics Operators of Latin America and the Caribbean (FANLAC), to start developing relations to introduce simulation to that continent.

"Thanks to simulators, we can start working virtually on the whole global logistics chain. We are certain that supply chains will improve because through simulation, each party will understand the other better, even if they are not 'real' operations," he says. 

The conclusion of the YEP MED (2023) and TECHLOG (2024) programmes will not mean the end of the Port Virtual Lab. "The most complicated thing was setting up the platform. Our idea is to create a worldwide network of centres linked to the ports that use it. In Catalonia alone, 80% of companies use the Port's services at some point, they are very large communities," he says.

Eduard Rodés explains that this learning method is far from stagnating. On the contrary. There are already voices hinting that the next step will be the creation of a metaverse where not only logistical operations will be simulated, but also the relationships between professionals. "New and very attractive scenarios are opening up," he concludes.