Vive la technologie!

Gaudeloupe-based transportation expert Christophe Foucault has a mission to benefit port communities across the region by rolling out new applications.

Information technology has played such a key role in all aspects of the transportation industry in recent years that its importance can hardly be overstated. And in one specific area of this IT revolution, the Guadeloupe-based company CEI.BA has distinguished itself. Since 2002 it has successfully managed the Caribbean’s first port community system (PCS) for the maritime and airport community of Guadeloupe. Here, Christophe Foucault, who has been chief executive of CEI.BA for the past five years, tells CM about his career in transportation so far and his passion for constantly seeking ways to improve the industry for the general good of everyone involved. Now, says M. Foucault, the latest developments in PCS technology are opening the way to a high degree of interfacing between port communities across the Caribbean that he believes will bring key benefits to the whole region.

Q. How did you first get involved in the transport industry? Was this something you were always interested in when you were growing up?

A. I’m involved in the transport industry for 22 years now [including] 17 years of experience in Malherbe Transport, in France, managing 2,500 lorries, 130,000 square meters of storage area [and] a turnover of US$ 400 million in 2017. I grew up in that industry. It was my first experience. First I was a sales representative, then I worked as an agency director and finally I managed the West of France branch. What made me succeed is the desire, the enthusiasm to know how it works and how we can progress technically, strategically, financially but also socially, we never do anything alone.

Q. Did you start to take a special interest in information technology when you were working for Malherbe Transport?

A. I decided to include IT in the lorries in 2008 – a system named Transics, a revolutionary technology for us at that time. It allows [us] to follow all the lorries in real time. Where is it? Is it delivering or [loading]? But now this system is even more complete and manages more processes. It’s possible to place geographical localization, to know if the lorry takes the right road, the cheapest highway, the cheapest gas station on its way to go. It permits [us] to calculate the commercial speed, the diesel consumption, to follow the social data. And there are numerous alerts, the fuel level in the tank – to prevent the [theft] of fuel – the pressure level of the tires thanks to captors, etc. This on-board technology, in permanent connection with the operating offices, permitted [us] to analyse and improve in a spectacular way the constancy of our lines, our profitability, the information for our customers and the safety of our drivers.

Q. Were you closely involved in implementing the AP+ platform in Guadeloupe?

A. CEI.BA is the first port community system in the Caribbean. It has been implemented since 2002 and it manages both maritime and air cargo trade. I was not yet in Guadeloupe when it was first launched, but I have participating in a number of IT developments since 2013. Actually, we are working on another module which is unique in the world at this time, and especially well adapted for the islands, but I can’t speak about it yet.

Q. Can you give me some idea about what challenges you and your team faced when you were designing and installing AP+ on behalf of the maritime and airport community?

A. The biggest challenge is to put everyone around the table. When you have done that, you have done a big part of the job. When you implement such a system, changing the way of doing business, introducing new procedures and processes, you must face resistance of change. It is a normal phase of the project. We had benefitted from the manufacturing know-how of SOGET in the implementation stage. With an efficient and effective implementation we have overcome resistance of change. Today our satisfaction is to hear our customers say they cannot manage without it!

Q. I believe that, since 2016, the CEI.BA team has been working with SOGET, operator of Le Havre Port Community System, on a PCS for Jamaica. Can you give me some details about this project?

A. In 2006 CEI.BA launched the CLOVIS project, co-financed by the European Union, to assist SOGET in their development in the Caribbean. We decided to prepare our team in CEI.BA to support SOGET. Based on our experience and competencies, CEI.BA implemented a regional team with technical, management and operational expertise. These experts, based in Guadeloupe, are involved in the Jamaican project. The system implemented in Jamaica is S)ONE – it is the new generation of PCS developed by SOGET. It is not exactly the same [as] the one in Guadeloupe because each PCS has to take into consideration the specificities of the environment where it is implemented. But, globally, the base is the same.

Q. I understand that, drawing on its PCS experience, CEI.BA has launched the CLOVIS and BECCA projects. Is CLOVIS the brand-name for CEI.BA’s ambitions and plans to extend its expertise in electronic data interchange to other countries of the Caribbean? I believe that steering committees have already been established in Dominica and Saint Lucia as well as in Jamaica and Guadeloupe.

A. Yes, CLOVIS is a CEI.BA initiative and we have discussions with ports and maritime communities in the Caribbean. The first objective of CLOVIS is to rationalize and optimize trade logistics business processes. It is a regional project which has the support of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, the CARICOM task force and the European Union. The implementation of the PCS leads to a gain for all stakeholders and it contributes to build a secure environment for cargo management. For the private sector, it is the best way to enhance productivity. BECCA is a freight exchange platform developed five years ago. This project has been co-financed by the FEDER funding through the Interreg Caraïbes program managed by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe. BECCA has been developed for and with the maritime trade agents in the Caribbean and Latin American region. BECCA’s objective is to match the maritime transport supply and demand and to optimize transport solutions and develop transport lines, but also stimulate profitability. At this time, we are finalizing a partnership with an international entity which will permit BECCA to shine not only in the Caribbean but also in Europe, in America, in Asia and in Africa.

Q. Can you explain the different roles of CLOVIS and BECCA?

A. CLOVIS was indeed built to expand our expertise in data interchange to other countries. BECCA is a freight exchange market place.

Q. You are also involved in the economic environment of Guadeloupe in your role as vice-president of the Guadeloupe Maritime Cluster. What are your main priorities in this area?

A. We live in an archipelago, so naturally, the sea plays a very important role in our life. We decided to build the Maritime Cluster of Guadeloupe in 2011. As the first PCS in the Caribbean, it was the first cluster in the French Islands. Right now, there is another maritime cluster in Martinique managed by M. Emmanuel Lise and also one in French Guyana. It includes all the actors of what we call the Blue Economy. The idea is to develop a think tank and the main questions are: how can we develop the sea economy in our areas; how can we develop employment; and, of course, in this reflection we include the environmental aspects.

Q. You also play a key role in the Mouvement des Entreprises de France business confederation (UDE-MEDEF Guadeloupe). What does that involve?

A. This organization gathers all main companies representing the economic environment of Guadeloupe. We do share our experiences to help each other in entrepreneurship. The core objective is to develop employment in our different fields of action. I am the vice-president of two commissions: new technologies and sustainability. We create projects and think about what can be done in these areas and we keep [ourselves] and the other members of UDE-MEDEF Guadeloupe informed.

Q. Do you believe that the electronic port community system can be a force for good across the Caribbean region, bringing benefits to all? I’m thinking not only in terms of helping each nation to deal more efficiently with ships and passengers and cargo, but also helping to bring the French-, Spanish- and English-speaking nations of the Caribbean into closer harmony?

A. Yes, of course. Before, each PCS was independent for its own port community; with the new generation, a PCS can interface with another and it will therefore increase the benefits for those who are equipped and for the Caribbean as large.

Q. Finally, could I ask you a little about your personal life? And what are your main interests outside of work in terms of sports and leisure activities?

A. I love Guadeloupe. I am practicing scuba diving – about 10,000 photos under the sea, I love the sea. I’m married, I have two children [who] are nine and 12 years old. Last year, they started to come with my wife and I under the sea.

About Christophe Foucault

Christophe Foucault hails from Brittany in France. Now aged 47, he has been chief executive of CEI.BA since September 2013.

He has worked in the transportation industry for the past 22 years, first as a sales representative and then as regional director of the French road haulage company Malherbe Transport. He has a post-graduate diploma in transport and logistics and a master’s degree in international trade.

Since 2016 the CEI.BA team has worked with SOGET – operator of Le Havre Port Community System in France – to set up the Jamaican PCS.

In addition, M. Foucault is vice-president of Guadeloupe Maritime Cluster and plays a key part in the business confederation UDE-MEDEF Guadeloupe. He is a member of the board of Réseau Entreprendre, which helps entrepreneurs to start up businesses.