Port of Pittsburgh Practicum Project

Abstract

In the past few years traditional business strategies have been significantly challenged by the Internet and e-commerce. Although old-economy companies dominate the transportation industry now, the industry is poised for change. Recent forecasts still predict explosive growth in business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce. Without doubt, a shift from the traditional business model must include an Internet strategy and a viable aspect of e-commerce to secure a competitive advantage. Recognizing those macroeconomic trends, the Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC) engaged the Carnegie Mellon University practicum team to evaluate and recommend an e-commerce solution. SmartBarge offers PPC the results of the practicum team’s efforts. The approach taken was to create a technical solution enabling shippers and providers to connect seamlessly and open a dialogue. By increasing both the sponsor’s understanding of the range of issues involved and the support of key industry leaders, the team has allowed PPC to strategically position itself for a subsequent step in the near future. Registration of the domain name SmartBarge.com by PPC was a plus for the practicum team. The name can be easily remembered and used to build a theme for the new website. The website is a working model that will allow PPC to build awareness of barge transport and to create a dialogue with shippers and waterway service providers. Although robust in functionality, it is only a first step to defining the requirements of a longer-term website that will handle end-to-end commercial transactions spanning the entire barging process.