The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) organised a workshop on collaborative planning in multimodal supply chain operations building on the work of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT).
One session focused on the opportunities and challenges related to the reuse of data in the supply chain. Speakers presented several examples of data exchange between supply chain partners.
One example was a Dutch-inspired initiative in the Port of Rotterdam, which features a logistics events catalogue designed to facilitate data sharing.
Another key topic was rail transportation where data should be made accessible to all supply chain stakeholders. The Technical Specification for Interoperability for Telematics Applications for Freight services (TAF/TSI) in the European Union’s rail system aims to standardise digital communication and data exchange. While this has brought significat progress in standardisation, critical information such as the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is still not shared with the end customers.
International Road Transport Union (IRU) demonstrated the example of the advanced cargo information system Import Control System 2(ICS2), showing that there remains considerable room for improvement to avoid information silos.
In his intervention, ESC Secretary General Godfried Smit emphasised that in an increasingly complex world, standardisation and the reliable re-use of data are essential. Without these, international trade will become more difficult. He also noted that most companies are sales-driven, meaning the business case for automation must be clear. The slow uptake of Electronic Consignment Note (eCMR) illustrates this challenge. According to him, making digital solutions mandatory would accelerate adoption, and integration rather than simple digitisation will define the future. “Replacing a paper-based CMR with an eCMR is no longer sufficient”, he said. As trade becomes increasingly global, standards must follow. UNECE and UN/CEFACT have a crucial role to play, and developing new local standards should be avoided. Godfried also reminded economic operators that “the foundation of all successful data exchange is the data quality,” noting that current data quality levels often fall short of what is needed.
UNECE will now reflect on these discussions and draft a future action plan on transport and logistics.