New UN specification improves visibility in multimodal supply chains

Cargo owners often have limited and fragmented access to operational data from ports and logistics hubs. This makes it more difficult to track shipments and respond quickly to disruptions. A new UN/CEFACT Business Requirements Specification (BRS) aims to improve this.

For many cargo owners, parts of seaport and inland port operations remain a ‘black box’. They do not always receive timely information about important logistics events, such as a vessel’s arrival or a customs inspection. This is partly because logistics events are described differently across platforms. Access to the associated data is also often arranged through separate agreements between individual parties.

The new specification introduces two connected building blocks to improve visibility across logistics chains covering sea, inland waterway, rail and road transport.

Building block 1: common terms

The first building block is an internationally harmonised register of transport events. It includes a starter catalogue of around thirty important events in ports and their hinterlands. The register assigns common names and codes to these events. It also defines the basic information that must be provided, such as the logistics object involved, the time, location and business context.

The specification also makes an important distinction between an event and a status. An event is something that happens at a specific time, such as a container being unloaded. A status describes the current situation based on one or more events, such as ‘available for collection’. This allows systems in different countries to interpret information consistently and enables parties to respond more quickly to changes.

Building block 2: standardised access and delegation

The second building block concerns access to data. It distinguishes between three concepts:

• Entitlement: the legal, contractual or official permission to request access;
• Grant: temporary and limited permission to access the data;
• Authorization: the decision to approve or reject a specific data request, depending on the current situation.

A party may, for example, receive temporary access to events relating to a particular shipment or transport movement. This access can be transferred, withdrawn and audited. It expires automatically when the transport operation ends.

Strong alignment with the Basic Data Infrastructure

The specification is closely aligned with the Dutch Basic Data Infrastructure (BDI). Both approaches place events at the centre of data sharing. They also link the exchange of information to a verifiable identity, involvement in a logistics transaction and an authorisation decision based on the specific circumstances.

UN/CEFACT provides international agreements on which logistics events are recorded and how they are described. The BDI enables this information to be shared securely and directly from the source with authorised parties. This approach has been further developed and tested in practice through the Digital Infrastructure Logistics programme.

The official UN/CEFACT specification has been published in the United Nations register.

Key roles for the Port of Rotterdam Authority, IAPH and Portbase

The Port of Rotterdam Authority played a leading role in developing the specification, working with UN/CEFACT and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). As the digital platform for the Dutch seaports, Portbase offers a potential environment in which to apply the agreements more widely in practice. The specification has already been partly implemented on the platform.