THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
At TOC Europe 2025, we jumped at the opportunity to get a line on recent changes and developments at Tideworks from its President, Thomas J. Rucker. Among others, we talked about the new ownership status, leadership changes, what the company is cooking up for its terminal operating system (TOS), the ingredients for building relationships on trust and hands-on knowledge, data, and artificial intelligence (AI).
How is Tideworks driving evolution with ownership and leadership changes?
In 2019, Tideworks entered its next phase of growth following Blackstone Infrastructure Partners’ majority investment in Carrix, Tideworks’ parent company. With the introduction of Blackstone, Tideworks has entered an exciting period of growth and innovation. To fuel this transition, we’ve doubled down on markets and products with the greatest growth potential, bringing in seasoned leaders to guide the way, including Frederik
Stork, who leads the professional services division, Subbu Bhat, who is the VP of software engineering, and Julian Galvis, who is leading the go-to-market strategy for our next wave of innovation and market expansion. Tideworks continues to focus on its core strengths, intermodal rail being one of them. Many of our projects and investments target that business, primarily across the US, and we’ve begun developing our platform to accommodate new areas, such as Australia and Europe. We are building on our strong foundation in the UK through our 15-year partnership with Freightliner, which
has our rail TOS solutions deployed in its terminal network across England and Scotland.
What developments will we see regarding your software?
Tideworks offers a full-suite TOS, however, we’re continuing to invest significantly in expanding features that deliver added value for our customers. We’re developing our platform with interoperability at its core, ensuring customers can integrate, extend, and adapt without being tied to a single vendor.
Tideworks understands that selecting a TOS is a strategic decision for terminals. Selecting a TOS is a ‘sticky’ decision, and it’s tough for a terminal to switch to another solution, so the TOS needs to be able to grow with the terminal.
We don’t want to be part of the ‘preventing terminal growth game’ and believe that clients shouldn’t have to wait for the vendor to make enhancements, to quote the add-on, etc. Our product roadmap includes a set of customization options and application programming interfaces (APIs), so that users will be able to extend the solution as needed.
Tideworks wants to set up our customers to tap into the countless AI solutions that are being developed. For AI to truly do its work, however, accurate, realtime data is required. Ensuring the right data at the right time in the right format will differentiate high-impact solutions
by Przemysław Myszka & Przemysław Opłocki
from the hype. But if you’ve got it, as Tideworks does, you’re fit to push the limits of terminal performance. Cybersecurity is another critical element of a TOS solution. We use industry-leading static code testing to scan our software before it runs, identifying and fixing security risks early so every solution is secure from the start. This phase is absolutely indispensable when you’re working with a connected TOS. We also do multiple penetration tests a year. In these times, when various cyber threats are on the rise, communicating with your clients about how you handle digital security is paramount. On-premise systems can be hardened with hardware or software-based security controls, adding a physical layer of defense to complement logical safeguards, or systems can be hosted in the cloud, with solutions like Amazon Web Services, which offer robust, enterprisegrade security designed to meet the highest industry standards.
Can you walk us through a potential commission?
We do a lot of pre-sales footwork to make sure our solution is a fit before we bring it to a prospective customer. That can include site assessments or pilots. Together, we can walk through
how our solution works and how it’s applicable to the client’s particular operations. If there are any gaps, we then get laser-focused on closing them with our product management team. Having ticked off all the solution fit related exercises, we move to project execution. We thoroughly assess readiness before go-live, ensuring each client’s team is well-prepared and confident in using the system. Our goal is always a smooth, successful transition with minimal disruption. Through implementation and beyond, clients are supported by a dedicated team of experienced professionals who stay closely engaged to address any questions, provide guidance, and help ensure longterm success.
Every client is assigned a client success manager, a high-touch, conciergelevel of service. Tideworks goes through quarterly business reviews with all of our customers to see how they’re doing, update them on the latest from us, and make any recommendations on new processes and technologies to implement to improve operations or lower operating costs. And there’s also hyper care support services we offer when the client needs our assistance beyond the implementation phase. That service is particularly attractive for operators who are just building their onsite TOS
team and the knowledge needed to be successful.
We recognize that teams evolve and internal expertise can shift over time. That’s why our professional services team stays engaged to provide ongoing support, operational consulting, and training as needed, helping clients maintain operational consistency and maximize longterm value. When our customers succeed, we find a deep sense of pride.
Is it challenging these days to recruit people to a software company, albeit a heavy-duty one, so to speak?
We seek hungry, purpose-driven individuals eager to make a lasting impact. They have to be passionate about the industry and love the supply chain. Here’s the thing: if you have the right mindset, even if you’re new to the industry, we know you can learn and build new skills. You just need the right guidance. We hire for character first. Some 80% of the people working on our professional services team are former operators (ex-planning and shift managers, stevedores, supervisors, you name it).
Take Frederik Stork, who visited around 200 terminals, give or take, over the past 13 years. The key is to speak the common language of operators, whether you’re in the US, Poland, Slovenia, or beyond.
PHOTOS: TIDEWORKS TECHNOLOGY
Tideworks was born out of SSA Marine, one of the world’s largest global terminal operating companies. I came up through IT and operations myself, spending many years working on a terminal. That background is most likely why I am at Tideworks: someone with hands-on experience and a sense of what operators need. I still remember pulling fiber in the tropics, setting up data centers from scratch, sitting in gate kiosks, and staying up all night with vessel planners. That experience, which I enjoyed deeply, allows me to sit alongside our customers, have real conversations about their operational challenges, and answer the most important questions: why Tideworks?
When you talk with a terminal client, it’s imperative that you understand their customers and community. Once you understand where the terminal fits within the broader supply chain, you can help them think through their challenges and find solutions. Think of a TOS vendor as a race team’s pit crew providing the tools, data, and quick adjustments that keep the operator running at peak performance. We’re not the driver, we don’t own the car, but we support them with the right team and broad experience. But it’s not only about deploying the right software. If anything, it first requires bringing in the right people with the right expertise. While we
have a strong team with deep operational expertise, I remember flying in people from the US and some of our Latin American partners to help tackle challenges on a project overseas. Having that network and the ability to tap into those kinds of resources has been a game-changer for us. Ultimately, it’s about helping terminals achieve operational excellence through their TOS. And that’s what will matter when the next big shift hits the industry, whether it’s a wave of autonomous trucks arriving at the gates, self-sailing vessels berthing all by themselves, quay cranes moving containers at twice today’s speed, or innovations we can’t yet imagine.
