Tusdeer hopes to enable its clients to access their cargo online by the end of 2007.

Like any other modern port facility, Tusdeer provides a number of IT services to its clients at present such as e-mail and Internet access. It also uses IT packages in its daily operations. Samir Sadek, the IT manager of Tusdeer said a great deal of the software used had been customised specifically for the port as there were no readily available off-the-shelf products in this field.
He said, “There is software but it takes a lot of customisation. We went through that experience. We had to make the decision that we would do our own customised system.”
This has been necessary as the concept of a free zone is relatively new to the region and there has not been any software designed specifically for the processes and procedures followed at the zone.
However, this will not be the case for the new container terminal to be constructed at Tusdeer, as there are specific software packages for that. Needless to say, the company may decide at a later stage to customise the software to its own requirements for this as well.
Speaking of the quality management at Tusdeer, Sadek said that the port offered its customers top-of-the-line hardware and anti-virus systems.
One of the IT challenges the zone poses is in terms of third-party logistics. Tusdeer provides third-party invoicing/billing and cargo repackaging services as an additional service for its clients at present. This means that Tusdeer’s clients do not need to invest in the technology for this. However, the company is working on a system that will allow clients to handle such transactions independently in the future.
Sadek said, “Eventually this process will be moved to the client, which will include a sub-billing system for the clients where they can handle their billing to their customers also.”