Transforming Port Operations with 1C:Drive: A 6-Year Journey of Automation

Six years ago, in 2019, the Rise SA team has started an exciting journey with Sogester (Sociedade Gestora de Terminais, S.A.), a leading Angolan company specializing in container terminal management. They focus on efficiency, safety, and international standards in port management. Their services include container handling, storage, and value-added operations such as inspection, weighing, and general cargo management. With terminals in Luanda and Namibe, Sogester is an influential part of the infrastructure that connects Angola to a global logistics chain.

Challenges before 1C:Drive implementation

Prior to migration to 1C:Drive, Sogester relied on the Navis Express terminal system to log all terminal operations (such as cargo arrival, container handling, and truck departures) with second-by-second precision. However, the system had significant limitations:

• Lack of flexibility. The system was rigid and did not allow customization for Sogester’s unique business processes. Updates were only implemented if they benefited a large number of users, leaving Sogester unable to adapt the system to their specific needs.
• Manual processes. Many operations, such as billing, document verification, and financial checks, were manual, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors.
• No built-in tax reporting system. Tax reporting was handled in a different, non-integrated system, which also incurred additional costs and user actions: to prepare tax reports, users needed to first transfer all company documents from Navis Express to the tax reporting system.

Sogester needed a flexible, scalable, and customizable solution to automate all their current and future business processes and combine everything in one place. So they decided to migrate to 1C:Drive. The main advantage of the 1C:Enterprise platform is its flexibility. The developer can make any changes to the system and implement any scenario the customer wants. This was not an easy journey as a lot of customizations were required, and the project took several years, but it was definitely worth it.

Project Phases

Phase 1: Data migration
The first step was to transfer all existing data from Navis Express to 1C:Drive. This required a thorough analysis of both systems to ensure data integrity and compatibility. The goal was to create a unified database that could support Sogester’s complex operations across multiple terminals.

Phase 2: Process automation
The main idea of the project was to build a flexible billing system to automate billing and document management processes for all operations at Sogester ports. The complexity arose from the need to handle multiple types of customers, different combinations of services, and complex pricing rules.

The service price depended on a combination of the following parameters:

• Customer type: different groups (Gate clients, VIP/credit clients, Lines, Brokers) required unique billing processes, documentation, and payment terms.
• Service bundles: services were categorized into standard (fixed tariffs) and custom (negotiated tariffs) with flexible discounts.
• Additional conditions: variables like free storage days, inspection fees, and fines increased the complexity.

To address this challenge, the Rise SA team automated 16 billing scenarios, covering all major operations:

• Container import/export for Gate clients, Credit clients, and Lines.
• General cargo handling (import/export) for both cash and credit customers.
• Special cases: weighing external containers, confiscated containers, exceptions, and inspections, each with unique workflows and documentation.

The result? A scalable, future-proof system that not only streamlined Sogester’s operations but also made it easy to adapt as the business grows and changes.

Phase 3: Integration with third-party systems
1C:Drive was also integrated with various systems to simplify data exchange:

1) Integration with Angolan Tax Authorities (AGT). 1C:Drive was specially certified by AGT to directly export and submit tax reporting (SAF-T (AO)), including billing and purchase data, to the government. Previously, Sogester relied on a separate, subscription-based system for tax reporting, which required manually transferring invoices, credit notes, and payment documents before submitting reports. With 1C:Drive, all data is now centralized in one system, eliminating manual imports and reducing costs by removing the paid third-party service.

2) Integration with ProxyPay. To simplify payments for customers, Sogester integrated its billing system with ProxyPay payment terminals. A customer receiving an invoice from Sogester can visit any ProxyPay terminal, enter the invoice code, and complete their payment instantly. The Rise SA team is currently working on another improvement: customers will be able to use the ProxyPay mobile app to pay their invoices. They will enter the invoice code directly in the mobile app and make the payment online.

3) TOS integration. Sogester currently has two systems: TOS is used to register the operations on the terminal (loading, unloading, ship maintenance) and 1C:Drive is used for billing. This integration ensures data exchange between the systems: TOS sends data on provided services, and this data is used in 1C:Drive to create sales orders and issue invoices to customers.

4) Integration with port authority. As a government-regulated entity, Sogester must report to the port authority about all containers and operations with them. Our integration helps to do it automatically. What's more, using this integration, Sogester can also receive an authorization number for each container entering or exiting the terminal to validate these operations.

5) IFS integration. Sogester is required to submit financial data to IFS (a government financial oversight system) for audit and compliance purposes. To ensure accuracy and efficiency, we integrated 1C:Drive with IFS, enabling automatic transmission of financial documents (invoices, credit notes and payment documents).

6) Bank stream. This tool allows importing bank statement transactions into 1C:Drive. There is no need to create payment documents in the system manually. The system just imports transactions from the bank and then creates payment documents for them.

7) Integration with MSC. MSC, one of Sogester’s key partners, wanted them to send financial documents directly, bypassing emails. So we built a custom integration to send MSC-specific invoices and credit notes directly to their server.