Abstract
Basic findings and recommendations of a 3-year research project are presented. The project deals with the application of business process reengineering methods to small- and medium-sized ports as a way of achieving overall effectiveness of port processes, as well as producing port-user benefits of all kinds. The project adopted a customer-oriented process view for tackling the problems faced. It produced a number of “tools” and work guidelines that port authorities can use to reconsider and review their processes with a view to changing (reengineering) them to increase efficiency. The basic premise and reasoning behind the work was that simply applying advanced technology to current port processes does not produce dramatic improvements. Normally these processes are fragmented, that is, they lack transparency and continuity because a variety of entities with seemingly conflicting interests are involved. To overcome this fragmentation and maximize the possibility of synergetic effects, a dynamic reconfiguration of the whole port system (i.e., the processes, entities involved, and their interrelations) is suggested. A brief review is presented of tools that were produced. Also described are specific generic reengineering solutions for port processes that resulted from the work, based on the suggested dynamic port system configuration.