Port of Auckland
Large-scale digital transformation
Port of Auckland's website (poal.co.nz) serves as the digital gateway to New Zealand's largest port. This customer-facing platform delivers critical information for shipping operations, including route details, pricing structures, and up-to-date shipping schedules.
Sector
Scope
User experience
User interface
Content management
Content migration
Support
Search optimisation
WHAT WE DID
Developed through close collaboration with all Port of Auckland departments, the website ensures that every business unit's requirements and customer needs are addressed. This collaborative approach created a seamless digital experience that supports the port's complex operations.
A technical upgrade was required to make the site easier to update and maintain, and meet modern best practice for security and performance. Drupal 10 was the natural choice to provide open source for enterprise at the highest standard.
To make it easy for key audiences to quickly access critical business information, the Sector distribution for business brought best practice design systems to support audiences with better navigation and visitor journeys - particularly those visitors seeking operational info around arrivals and departure, often on mobile.
Specialised sections such as ‘Operations’ are where Sparks have a wealth of experience and existing solutions ready to be integrated. Drupal is API native, so the API integrations required for POAL (such as cruise schedules and truck turn times) is in-line with work done for recent clients (including APIs from Tourism New Zealand, Healthpoint and Autoplay).
The port itself has a rich history spanning more than 175 years as Auckland's maritime gateway, connecting New Zealand to global trade networks. The new website represents this legacy while providing modern digital services to facilitate efficient port operations for all stakeholders.
Sparks Interactive have been a brilliant support for our business. We needed a new, easy to use and responsive website and they delivered.
Building a new website pretty much from scratch was a task I was nervous about, but working with Sparks Interactive made it easy and enjoyable (can you say that about a website build?).Sparks went the extra mile and yet they never seem stressed, even at critical phases of the project and when the project had unexpected hurdles. They were customer focussed, took the time to understand our business and helped create a website we're proud to put our name on.
Julie Wagener
Head of Communications, Port of Auckland