Logistics under pressure: smarter, safer and more resilient with the BDI

The logistics sector faces major challenges, including capacity shortages, stricter regulations, and an increase in crime. Simultaneously, sustainability and efficiency are becoming increasingly urgent. During the BDI Summit in Delft, it became clear how digitisation and federated data sharing, supported by new IT architectures, can make supply chains smarter, safer, and more resilient.

The Basic Data Infrastructure (BDI) is a framework developed within the logistics sector. Its core principle is that data remains at the source but can be exchanged via common agreements and standards. During the Summit, IT professionals, users, and policymakers discussed the opportunities and challenges. Six key trends emerged:

1. Connecting physical and digital

The BDI always anchors digital exchange in physical processes. Steven Schouten, BDI product owner, emphasised: "Goods are already moving from A to B every day. We just ensure that this process runs more efficiently and securely, without parties losing control over their own data." He also pointed out the necessity of an iterative approach to development to align with the dynamic nature of logistics.

2. Federated data sharing and decentralised architectures

The federative nature of BDI is distinctive. Unlike central platforms, data remains under the control of the owner. Information is exchanged via agreement frameworks, authorisation registers, and connectors in existing systems. This increases trust, prevents vendor lock-in, and allows growers, shippers, or port companies to determine for themselves with whom and under what conditions they share their data.

3. Artificial intelligence as an accelerator

Artificial intelligence (AI) is deployed to make processes more efficient and to predict risks. Cargonaut, for instance, uses ai to analyse patterns in freight flows and estimate the risk of theft.

Ewout bouwman, BDI IT architect, views AI and federated data sharing as complementary: "AI needs data to learn and predict. BDI ensures that this data becomes available in a federative context." Solving fundamental issues, such as tracing a container, is a prerequisite for AI to extract value from data. According to bouwman, the power of AI lies primarily in providing early signals, for example, to determine the impact of a delay on contractual obligations. Furthermore, AI can act as a 'translator' between different standards (semantics), achieving practical interoperability without forcing everyone to use the same standard.

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4. Digital identities and governance

Beyond technology, clear governance and agreements are essential for adoption. This involves clear rules regarding roles, access, and securing trust. At Secure Import at Schiphol, access to goods is only granted after every party in the chain has added a piece of information, resulting in a short-lived, unique qr code. In the port, portbase plays a role in the secure chain by collaborating with identity providers, ensuring that only authorised parties can collect containers, which significantly reduces the risk of misuse.

5. Security in the supply chain

The focus is shifting from internal cybersecurity to supply chain resilience. Koen van Nistelrooij, Security Officer at BDI, states that the goal is to create one minimum, shared security baseline. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 is used as a common reference point, linked to obligations such as NIS2 and ISO 27001. This transforms security into a joint effort across the entire chain.

6. Standardisation and incubators

For innovation to succeed, a clear foundation is necessary, both technically and legally. The bdi summit introduced an incubator approach: a set of ready-to-use tools to lower the barriers for new data-sharing initiatives. This allows parties to get started faster, instead of having to set up governance structures, legal documents, and technology themselves.

_{This article is based on a report from the BDI Summit by mels dees, which can be read on Computable in Dutch.}