Port Partners With AppliedTheory For eBusiness Initiative

Bellevue Company Will Help Chart Port's Path Into Web-Based International Arena

The Port of Seattle has selected AppliedTheory Corporation to help the Port launch its eBusiness Initiative. AppliedTheory will design an architectural blueprint and install the basic infrastructure to support the initiative, which will enable the Port to differentiate itself in eBusiness solutions for companies involved in international trade and transportation.

"This partnership is an excellent fit for us," said M. R. Dinsmore, executive director for the Port of Seattle. "AppliedTheory is a proven performer who can provide the Port with the innovative, objective, and independent thinking we need to build our eBusiness architecture and business plans."

"The Port of Seattle is a uniquely complex and sophisticated organization, combining as it does a major airport and seaport under a common governance," said Tony Parker, director of eBusiness consulting for AppliedTheory. "This sophistication provides rich scope for harnessing eBusiness to improve the competitiveness of its customers, create a more rewarding work environment for its employees, and better serve this community to which it belongs."

The Port Commission in October authorized an initial investment of $710,000 to cover the first phase of the initiative, which also includes purchasing and implementing the software and hardware needed for increased transactions under the new eBusiness strategy.

Phase two of the eBusiness initiative consists of implementing applications built upon the infrastructure developed in the first phase. Phase two will focus on improved customer service, as well as improved internal Port-wide programs. External uses could include on-line registration and payment for boat moorage at Port marinas, while internal uses could include payroll and expense report forms processing, and on-line project management tracking.

The third phase of the plan, a three-year implementation and funding plan for eBusiness projects and applications, will be developed during the first two phases.

More information is available at www.portseattle.org, and at www.appliedtheory.com.