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© DCSA 2024all rights reserved.
TPM24 was held 3-6 March this year and DCSA was delighted to attend. The theme of the event, organised by the Journal of Commerce as the premier conference for trans-Pacific and global container shipping and logistics, was ‘extreme normalisation fallout’.Extreme normalisation being a reversion to pre-pandemic freight rates and port fluidity in the first half of 2023, after the market impact of COVID-19; fallout being the false sense of security that has since been dashed by below normal schedule reliability, Panama Canal restrictions and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.It is a clear reminder, if one is ever needed, that there will always be disruption. That in response, we need more agility in the supply chain. That inherent processes must be more resilient and flexible. For that, supply chain partners need actionable data and by actionable, we mean timely and communicated in ways and formats that all systems can process, to be shared unhindered between links in the supply chain.Digitalisation is central to achieving this vision. So too is standardisation. Digital standards in container shipping help overcome communication hurdles for more efficient and sustainable processes and a better overall customer experience.
The era of digital standards adoption
The great news coming out of TPM is that DCSA standards adoption is happening. Awareness of the standards is good, and there is demand and support from within the ecosystem for digitalisation and interoperable data exchange. This is the era of adoption, with DCSA at the forefront of it, and if the panel discussions, keynote speeches and our networking are anything to go by, key industry stakeholders are willing and committed  to implementing DCSA standards.At TPM, DCSA had encouraging conversations about the electronic bill of lading (eBL), track and trace, and vessel schedules (both commercial and operational). Between them, these standards address significant communications challenges that we see today.An universal eBL uses open source Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable straight-through processing of bill of lading (B/L) data so physical documents don’t have to be exchanged, paper and manual intervention can be eliminated from B/L processes, and interoperability can be achieved.Track and trace (T&T) standards establish a technological foundation for continuous visibility into container whereabouts and operational events along the end-to-end container journey. Current methods for generating and communicating operational data are antiquated, manual, unaligned and unpredictable, so data is often exchanged inconsistently, with delays or not at all. With all DCSA members now positioned to offer the T&T standard, it is imperative that the industry now moves towards a better, reliable and interoperable data format for key events and milestones. This will be enhanced further with the introduction of PUSH API, which was singled out as a key enabler for scaling adoption of DCSA standards.Vessel schedule standards enable the standardised sharing of vessel schedule data and exception-related information between carriers, operational and commercial partners, and their solution providers. Leveraging a common structure for schedules, defined data attributes, and an API, DCSA standards clarify which information is associated with a vessel at service, voyage, and port call levels. Meanwhile, point-to-point multimodal routings for commercial schedules provide the means to exchange that information.
The era of intelligent containers
TPM also taught us that there is appetite for the internet of things (IoT) to make containers intelligent and usher in an era of smart containers. IoT can provide visibility at the holistic level – for compliance and intermodal transport.Smart containers open up opportunities for enhanced supply chain management through sensors that can feed real-time data back to shippers and carriers so they can take appropriate action. Data can include location, status and events, such as containers being accessed en route.IoT standards support an uninterrupted flow of information on container whereabouts and the status of their contents at any point along container journeys.
The era of collaboration
We are confident, from conversations at TPM, that stakeholders recognise their roles in digitalisation and in adopting digital standards. Last year, our mission at TPM was to gain support for standards implementation, this year we see it happening, and next year we expect to see benefits realisation as the industry gets data flowing.It will take collaboration, and everyone taking responsibility to make logistics better. There will always be disruption, and challenges to keep addressing, including sustainability. The industry must strengthen its communication and processes to take on these challenges and it will do so by collaborating on digitalisation and standardisation.
Get involved
Reach out to us to ask questions or give feedback, join the eBL movement and talk to your supply chain partners about digital standards. Together, we can shape the future of container shipping. 
It is a clear reminder, if one is ever needed, that there will always be disruption.

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