Customer & Terminal Context
Our client operates a multipurpose terminal in the a European free port zone, handling container, Ro-Ro, ConRo and general cargo. The terminal was built as a greenfield facility through a public-private partnership, with construction starting in 2015 and full operations launching in 2021.
The terminal covers 27 hectares and operates two berths at 360m and 414m, served by four mobile harbour cranes. It has direct quay-to-rail connectivity with 27 daily train rotations linking terminal to their European intermodal network.
Since becoming fully operational, the terminal has been scaling throughput steadily as capacity comes online and trade routes develop.
Operational Challenge
As a greenfield terminal, the client had no legacy systems to work with — and no legacy constraints either. The terminal needed a full operational platform from day one: vessel and yard operations for multiple cargo types, gate automation, and a community-facing system for truck appointments and document workflows.
Handling containers, Ro-Ro units and general cargo within the same terminal adds complexity. Each cargo type moves differently through the yard, requires different handling equipment and follows different commercial workflows. A system built for containers alone would not cover it. The terminal needed a vendor that could deliver across all three areas — and take responsibility for the integration between them.
The timeline was tight. Cone Center was engaged in September and deployed an initial working solution by May — nine months from start to live operations.
Solution: Cone TOS, GOS and TCS
Cone Center was selected as the vendor for the terminal's full operational stack, delivering three systems — TOS, GOS and TCS.
The TOS manages vessel operations including loading and discharging, automated reporting, and railway operations — a critical capability given the terminal's 27 daily train rotations. Graphical yard visualization supports both Ro-Ro and container operations.
The TCS handles truck appointments for cargo entry and exit, document workflows including a drivers registry, and provides freight forwarders and shipping agents with real-time stock and inventory visibility. Trucks are staged in a parking area several kilometers from the terminal and called forward through the Sinfomar system when their appointment is confirmed — reducing congestion at the terminal gate.
The GOS automates gate-in and gate-out through automated barriers, license plate recognition, cargo OCR, damage inspection and lane management, supported by self-service kiosks.
Having one vendor responsible for all three systems and the connections between them meant the terminal did not have to manage multiple vendors or own the integration risk during a greenfield launch.
The systems integrate with SAP ERP for commercial processes and EDBIC for broader data exchange.
Outcomes & Long-Term Cooperation
The terminal went live on Cone's full platform from the first day of operations. Since 2021, it has scaled throughput continuously, with the systems supporting that growth without requiring replacement or parallel tools.
Because Cone delivers all three systems and owns the integration between them, operational data flows from vessel to yard to gate to rail without the terminal having to bridge gaps between different vendors. For a multipurpose terminal handling mixed cargo types, that matters — it is what makes it possible to run Ro-Ro, container and general cargo operations from a connected environment.
Looking ahead, the terminal is constructing a new Ro-Ro yard to expand cargo throughput. The new facility will be automated and integrated into the existing Cone deployment — extending the platform rather than introducing a separate system.
Stakeholder Perspective
According to the Head of Operations:
"We launched a multipurpose terminal on Cone's platform from day one — TOS, GOS and TCS. The systems have scaled with us as throughput has grown, and when we expand the Ro-Ro yard, it will be built into the same environment. That continuity matters when you are running mixed cargo operations."
