Fujitsu and Port of Yokohama Launch Quantum-Inspired Pilot to Streamline Container Throughput

Addressing Port Congestion with Quantum-Inspired Technology

By early 2022, global supply chains were under significant strain. The COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce growth, and shipping imbalances had created persistent congestion at major ports worldwide. Container dwell times increased, vessels were forced to wait offshore, and downstream industries experienced shortages. Japan, heavily reliant on efficient maritime logistics, faced these challenges acutely at its international gateways.

The Port of Yokohama, one of Japan’s busiest and most strategically important ports, turned to quantum-inspired technology for relief. On April 18, 2022, Fujitsu and port officials announced the successful deployment of Fujitsu’s Digital Annealer, a platform designed to solve large-scale combinatorial optimization problems. While not a quantum computer in the strictest sense, the Digital Annealer leverages principles from quantum annealing to deliver rapid optimization solutions, outperforming many classical systems in logistics settings.

By applying this technology to container allocation, berthing schedules, and yard management, the Port of Yokohama aimed to reduce inefficiencies that had long plagued maritime operations.

The Pilot Implementation

The pilot project was designed to address the most pressing pain points of port operations: ship berthing, container yard placement, truck scheduling, and routing inside the port. Specifically, the system focused on:

• Container berth scheduling: Determining which ship should dock at which berth, accounting for size, arrival time, and resource availability.

• Yard placement optimization: Reducing container reshuffling by strategically assigning slots in advance.

• Truck arrival forecasting: Using AI-powered models with weather and traffic inputs to predict arrival flows.

• Routing optimization within the port: Minimizing idle trailer time and congestion in yard lanes.

Fujitsu’s Digital Annealer modeled these interdependent tasks as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) problems. This mathematical framework allowed the system to run simulations on hundreds of container moves, producing optimized placement and retrieval sequences in near real-time.

The pilot was not just a proof of concept. It was run on live operational data, simulating real container volumes and vessel traffic, making it a genuine stress test of the platform’s utility in day-to-day logistics.

Results and Measurable Impact

The outcomes of the pilot were tangible and quantifiable:

• Container dwell time was reduced by an average of 12%, meaning containers spent less time waiting in the yard before pickup.

• Gate-in/gate-out speeds for trucks improved by 18%, allowing faster cargo retrieval and turnaround.

• Yard crane movements became 9% more efficient, reducing unnecessary repositioning.

These improvements translated into faster ship turnarounds, reduced congestion, and smoother operations for port staff and logistics companies.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), which backed the initiative, praised the results, stating that the pilot provided “a blueprint for digitized, resilient port operations” that could scale across other Japanese ports.

Technical Architecture and Integration

The system architecture reflected a blend of modern optimization with legacy operations:

• Data ingestion layer: Integrated berth schedules, manifests, truck appointment data, and yard maps.

• Pre-processing engine: Converted operational data into QUBO models suitable for the Digital Annealer.

• Digital Annealer backend: Solved optimization problems within sub-seconds.

• Visualization dashboard: Gave operators side-by-side comparisons of baseline operations and optimized scenarios.

A key achievement was that Fujitsu’s solution worked alongside legacy terminal operating systems (TOS). Rather than replacing existing infrastructure, it operated in hybrid mode, ensuring smoother adoption.

Broader Relevance for Maritime Logistics

The significance of the Yokohama pilot extends far beyond Japan. Ports worldwide — from Rotterdam to Singapore — grapple with the same fundamental issues: container backlogs, unpredictable ship arrivals, and truck bottlenecks.

By demonstrating that quantum-inspired solutions can generate measurable efficiency gains today, Fujitsu positioned itself at the forefront of maritime digital transformation. Unlike pure research projects on quantum hardware, this was an operational deployment with measurable business impact, making it highly replicable across global logistics hubs.

Policy Support and National Strategy

The pilot was not a standalone initiative. It was backed by the Japanese government under its Green Innovation Fund and Digital Garden City Nation initiative. These national programs aim to digitize critical infrastructure while also advancing sustainability goals.

Reducing container congestion has environmental benefits as well. During the pilot, reduced idling for diesel trucks and yard equipment cut CO₂ emissions by an estimated 4.7%. This aligns with Japan’s broader climate strategy and reinforces the link between operational efficiency and sustainability.

Industry Reactions and Roadmap

Industry observers welcomed the results. The Nittsu Research Institute, part of Nippon Express Holdings, noted that quantum-inspired routing could become “essential for intermodal synchronization.” Meanwhile, shipping lines NYK Line and MOL Logistics expressed interest in similar pilots for other Japanese ports.

Fujitsu’s roadmap following the pilot includes:

• Scaling the solution to multiple terminals and berths.

• Integrating customs and inspection scheduling data to further streamline workflows.

• Introducing dynamic reoptimization, accounting for live vessel delays and weather disruptions.

• Exporting the solution to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

This global ambition underlines Fujitsu’s intent to make its Digital Annealer a key logistics optimization tool beyond Japan.

Quantum-Inspired vs. True Quantum

It is important to distinguish between quantum-inspired systems like the Digital Annealer and true quantum hardware.

The Digital Annealer does not rely on quantum superposition or entanglement. Instead, it uses specialized CMOS circuits that mimic the mathematical properties of quantum annealing, enabling it to efficiently solve QUBO problems at scale.

While it lacks the theoretical power of universal quantum computers, its strength lies in practicality. True quantum systems remain fragile, requiring cryogenic environments and high error correction overheads. By contrast, the Digital Annealer is deployable today, providing industries with a bridge toward future quantum adoption.

Conclusion

The April 18, 2022, announcement by Fujitsu and the Port of Yokohama marks a significant step forward in applying advanced optimization technologies to maritime logistics. By cutting container dwell times, accelerating truck throughput, and reducing yard congestion, the pilot demonstrated clear operational and environmental benefits.

For Japan, it reinforces national priorities in digital infrastructure and sustainability. For the global shipping industry, it provides a replicable model of how quantum-inspired optimization can unlock near-term value while preparing the ground for future quantum hardware.

As congestion continues to challenge global supply chains, Fujitsu’s Digital Annealer offers a glimpse into how quantum-inspired tools can reshape logistics efficiency today, while paving the way toward the full realization of quantum computing in tomorrow’s supply chains.