Status update on Blockshipping’s AI-project
Dear Community,
We have been working very hard on our Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for the last few months, and now we want to share the results with you.
Import Dwell Time Prediction (IDP)
In our last update in June, we announced that we are working on a new product called Import Dwell Time Prediction (IDP). The Import Dwell Time Prediction is an AI-based prediction service that will be able to forecast how long containers will remain in the container terminal before being delivered to the importer.
Business drivers & pain points addressed by IDP
Terminal operators have little certainty as to how long a specific import container will stay in the yard and when it will be picked up for transport. Because of this, most container terminals use random stacking to place import containers in the yard. It is, therefore, normal practice that terminals must accept a relatively high number of yard shuffles in order to dig out import containers for delivery to importers.
Container carriers face a similar problem again caused by the lack of insight as to when import containers will be picked up by the importer. In order to avoid the risk of insufficient supply of empty containers to meet export demand, Container carriers tend to play it safe by maintaining a relatively high empty container buffer.
Very impressive results achieved from our PoC
After receiving substantial data sets from a container terminal where we are running the Proof-of-Concept, we have been through more than 100 different AI models and have selected an AI model which provides the highest prediction accuracy.
Based on the dataset provided by the terminal the IDP Project has been able to achieve an import container prediction accuracy of 34% within a 12-hour window, 58% accuracy within a 24-hour window and 70% accuracy within a 48-hour window.
It’s worth noting that the 58% prediction accuracy of one day outperforms the current state of the art dwell time prediction models described in university scientific literature where the best results are around 37% prediction accuracy.
Validation of the product in Terminal Simulation System
The port consulting firm that Blockshipping has been working with has run the results from the PoC terminal through its Terminal Simulation System.
Below you will find a summary highlighting the simulation results by comparing the effects of conventional stacking strategies vs using AI-based dwell time predictions. The achieved results are indeed very impressive.
For the tested terminal setup, the IDP results would reduce the number of shuffle moves for landside retrievals by 29% for a 1M TEU terminal and 33% for a 1.3M TEU terminal.
The development of the IDP product is approximately 65 % complete, and we need external funding to make the IDP product market and production ready. In order to complete product development, we need to integrate the IDP to the Terminal Operating System that are in use at every container terminal.
We are in dialogue with both customers as well as potential investors.
Restructuring of Blockshipping and pivot out of the ICO model
Unfortunately, we have had to realize that the complexity surrounding our ICO has made it impossible to secure traditional equity financing. We are therefore planning a reconstruction of Blockshipping which will be put in motion within the next couple of months. This reconstruction involves a pivot out of the ICO model based on which CCC token holders will swap their CCC token holdings for equity in a new setup. Details are being worked out and will be communicated to CCC token holders during December or first part of January 2020.
This will enable Blockshipping to start afresh with the launch of the IDP product planned for Q1 2020. In addition to the IDP, we have several other promising products from the GSCP product roadmap that will be initiated once the IDP product starts to generate revenues.
We hope that with this update we could give you a little insight into the recent developments around Blockshipping and the GSCP. If you have questions around Blockshipping or the IDP, feel free to contact us!
We hope we could give you a little insight into the recent developments around the GSCP. If you have questions around Blockshipping or the IDP, feel free to contact us!
All the best,
