The Beginnings of National e-Freight Portals in Australia, Asia and Europe

In late 2008 the State of Victoria, in Australia, released 'Freight Futures: The Victorian Freight Network Strategy' (DoT, 2008). This was the first major Australian State Freight Strategy that recommended the implementation of an information communication technology (ICT) public domain portal that would enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the freight transport sector to achieve higher levels of productivity and efficiency through access to, and use of, an internet based e-freight portal, utilising software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. This was a planning initiative that may be seen as a next step compared to the Tsinghua University e-freight software applications that were listed on a 'public domain' marketplace, or even wider in application than the Port community efreight portals that Singapore and other major ports have already built. Efficiencies for the target user groups using these e-freight applications are identified as delivering significant productivity benefits to the user communities.