Voluntary Port Performance Model Development

Background

In 2019, the Victorian Minister for Ports and Freight initiated an independent review of port pricing and access arrangements at the Port of Melbourne, in line with a commitment in the Victorian Freight Plan to investigate options for the future role of Government in regulating pricing/charges, and access to and from the port. Recommendations from the review included creating measures to improve pricing transparency including notification of changes in pricing and the rationale for cost increases and a Voluntary Performance Monitoring Framework (VPMF) to include performance metrics to provide transparency to industry and Government on the performance of the Port of Melbourne landside container supply chain. In May 2020, the Minister advised industry of the intention of the Victorian Government to create the Voluntary Port of Melbourne Performance Model (VPPM). The Victorian Department of Transport sought advisory support to assist in its roll out.  

 Our Role

NineSquared was engaged by the Department to assist with the implementation and oversight of the VPPM and VPMF, including developing performance indicators to provide greater transparency on the performance of the Port of Melbourne landside container supply chain. The work included: 

• Assisting with stevedore landside performance monitoring, including quarterly data collection and reporting 

• Developing data visualisations for publishing performance data 

• Developing governance, data and reporting processes 

• Providing expert advice on freight issues, including support for the Container Freight Working Group established by DTP to explore solutions to issues causing disruption in the landside container freight supply chain 

• Assisting with the development of a Container Storage Working Group Industry Guide documenting solutions examined by the Working Group 

• Assisting with the development of a Voluntary Code of Practice for managing disruptions in the landside freight supply chain in the Port of Melbourne 

• Analytical and reporting support for a trial of efficiency improvements at Empty Container Parks 

 While the movement of freight is a commercial activity managed by private organisations, there is an increasing public expectation that government will intervene when things go wrong in supply chains, evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent issues at Victorian ports. Data and performance measures can play an important role in helping industry and government to understand the efficiency and effectiveness of key supply chains, and guide efforts to make the freight and logistics sector more resilient. The Department of Transport in Victoria has been the most pro-active Australian jurisdictions to deal with these issues. NineSquared provided flexible and responsive support for work by the Department that beyond initial implementation of the VPMF and VPPM, to include support for expansions to model and industry efficiency initiatives. This included supporting the industry working groups considering supply chain problems and opportunities to improve efficiency. Our work helped the DTP to respond to industry issues and needs quickly and effectively. 

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