Case Study: Panama Canal achieves rapid digital transformation and streamlined operations with GeneXus

Digital Transformation Secrets of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal faced a major digital-transformation challenge after its 2016 expansion: modernize and integrate mission‑critical operations to handle larger Neo‑Panamax traffic, streamline booking and inspections, and replace paper-based processes. GeneXus was engaged to deliver the software stack — including the Tug suite, Land Transport suite, Transit Slot Reservation System, Vessel Admeasurement and Inspection System, TransitCast and GXflow — and to integrate with the existing maritime portal and Oracle identity manager so users experience a single seamless system.

Using GeneXus, a seven‑person development team built web and native mobile applications in 15 months that consolidated eight systems, a ~65,000‑ship database and online slot reservations (eight slots/day), plus offline inspection, digital signatures and real‑time dashboards. The solution eliminated weekly printed timetables for 700 tug crew, supports 48 tugboats, delivered five apps at inauguration (and six more in 2018), and contributed to strong financial performance — in 2017 slot bookings and tolls generated US$203 million and US$2.217 billion respectively — while achieving implementation timelines far shorter than traditional development approaches.

Panama Canal

Arístides de Gracia

Head of Systems Development