Activities

Real time data and logistics

A global real-time revolution is unfolding, transforming the quality, timelessness and use of information. This allows:

Welcome to instant economics. Featuring data as a production factor, in additional to land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. Real time data change the landscapes of our economy and society, including its  ability to grow GDP (gross domestic product) and the capacity to sustainably deal with many challenges, such as  climate change and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic.

In logistics, real time data exchange allows for seamless collaboration between all parties, enhancing supply chain interoperability and pull based innovations. The effects being:

So far, logistics in the EU has left these opportunities mostly untapped, What is lacking is a reliable data infrastructure - Internet of Logistics - for sharing commercially sensitive logistics data. The result being more efficient, resilient, and sustainable logistics. The effective use of real time data allow for transformational profits. The focus should be on innovation and scaling.

Real time data challenges the EU to develop a coherent policy approach, giving full leverage to the strengths and diversity of the EU Member States. How to do this? On the top end  stands the EU Single Digital Market policy. Since 2015, this policy  constitutes the basis for the EU Digital Transport Logistic Forum (DTLF) to develop guidance to effectively work with data in freight  transport and logistics. 

The outcome of the first EU DTLF mandate was the promotion of the federated network of platforms approach. Connectivity enabled by the Internet constitutes the basis for  DTLF elaborating  4 basic principles – building blocks - on how to develop a federated network of platform approach: 

  1. Plug and Play (P&P). Register and connect once with a solution/service provider of choice
  2. Technology independent Infrastructure Services (TIS). Seamless, secure, safe, and compliant trade flows
  3. FEDeration: network of platforms and peer-to-peer solutions (FED). Economies of scale and network effects with standardised protocols
  4. Trusted, safe, and secure. Governance rules, certified participants, and data governance

To showcase this DTLF network of platforms concept, two EU CEF Actions were developed: FENIX and FEDeRATED. Both projects started in 2019. In 2023, the FEDeRATED Action will deliver a validated Master Plan for developing an EU future proof data sharing infrastructure for freight transport and logistics. The validation will be established in the Action zone; - through testing sites (Living Labs) with participation of various supply chain operators. 

Real time dataThis illustration - baed on an article in The Economisty 13 November 2021 -  identifies the trend towards instant economics, In addition its compiles an overview o the logistic operators involved and connecting objectives and issues, and the estimated impact of digitalisation in logistics, identifying in brief the FEDeRATED Living Lab business cases

FEDeRATED 2019-2021 

Can a network of platform be realized? If so, under what conditions? These two questions constitute the basis of the FEDeRATED project, that runs from 2019-2023. In 2019 the FEDeRATED Vision defined the federated network of platforms as: An infrastructure provision containing a set of arrangements and technical applications to enable data in existing IT systems (platforms) of companies and public administrations to become available to authorised users through a publish and subscribe approach. To enable this, supply and logistics stakeholders need to participate and share data in multiple communities.[1]

FEDeRATED elaborated and further detailed the DTLF building blocks in its Vision document (Milestone 1) through its Core Operating Framework (COF) and in its Interim Masterplan (Milestone 2) in March 2020. Milestone 2 specified the COF by identifying. i.e.: 

The FEDeRATED Semantic Modelling Group and the IT Architecture Group of the FEDeRATED project – both part Activity 2 - developed more precision on and detailing of the required architecture and semantics to enable a federated netwok of platforms approach to be developed., Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, these groups have produced substantial output in the period 2020-2021. .   

 

[1] The synonym ‘data space’ for ‘community’ is used by IDSA (International Data Space Association) and GAIA-X.