This Spring, FEDeRATED partners are spreading the word on the need for collaboration towards federated data driven collaborative innovations in freight transport and logistics in various places.

In Paris, 21 - 23 April, the FEDeRATED project coordinator contributed to a panel discussion on cargo, data and liability during the International Aviation Law Conference, hosted by PEOPIL  and McGill University, and attended by over 190 delegates.

In Istanbul, 25-27 April 2023, IATA's World Cargo Symposium attracted over 1200 delegates from the air transport sector. A key decision made during the conference was for the air transport industry to implement the IATA ONE Record data sharing standard by 1 January 2026 by all IATA’s member airlines. ONE Record - which is incorporated in FEDeRATED LL#11 - aims at interoperability with multimodal transport thereby enhancping efficiency, sustainability, and create new opportunities within the air cargo sector. 

In Singapore, 24-28 April 2023, the Singapore Maritime Week attracted many visitors. During the Event,the Virtual Watchtower video  click - as well as its website -  www.virtualwatchtower.org - were released. Various aspects of the Virtual Watchtower project are incorporated in FEDeRATED LL#8, LL#13 and LL#14. During the Singapore Maritime Week, specific meetings were organised between SIngapore and Swedish delegates, aimed at intensifying data based collaboration in maritime transport.

In virtual settings on 2 May, 51Biz presented LL#17   at  the TIMOR-LESTE national workshop organised by the UNESE national event thereby connecting the dots between the eFTI and FEDeRATED data at source architecture - click here   - and on 10 May, the FEDeRATED operational framework for data sharing in logistics was presented to the Stakeholder Workshop of the PrepDSpace4Mobility Coordination and Support ActionPrep for Coordination and Support Action. Click here

In Munich, 9-13 May, during the Logistics Transport Fair, various FEDeRATED partners actively participate. At the Codognotto booth, four workshops present to a wide range of visitors the contributions of the Netherlands (LL#20), Sweden (LL#5), Spain (LL#21) and Italy (LL#12 and LL#16) towards sustainable federated data sharing in logistiartner collaboration. 

In Barcelona, on 11 May, Puertos del Estado (LL#21) actively participated in the eFTI Conference organised by the EC, whereby also 51Bizpresented its LL#17 business case.

In Geneva, on 12 May during the 3 day UN/ECEFE Forum, 51Bwill participate in a Seminar elaborating on the usefulness of data standards for green logistics and the technical developments regarding verifiable credentials.

In Lisbon,  20-23 May during the ITS confereence, the FEDeRATED project and LL#5 will be actively promoted at the Nordic booth. During the various panel sessions - I.e, the EU eFTI Regulation & Digital Logistics, are you ready for the future? and on 5G and digitilisation in logistics, FEDeRATED will present its proposal for an EU operational framework for data sharing in logistics, also in connection to the work of ALICE, and EU projects, such as FENIX. 

In Verona, 30 May-1 June at the 5th LivingLab workshop, all FEDeRATED assemble, connect the project dots, and charge their engines. 

EXTRA:  IATA's World Cargo Symposium abstract: Here is one the statements made at the plenary opening session by Brendan Sullivan, Global Head of Cargo, on digitization:

"In addition to specific efforts on sustainability, like any business air cargo needs to continuously improve its efficiency. And the area with greatest potential is digitalization.We have three goals:

First – 100% airline capability of ONE Record by January 2026
This initiative will replace the many data standards used for transport documents with a single record for every shipment. The Cargo Services Conference agreed on Sunday agreed that it wants to achieve 100% airline capability by 1 January 2026 and the Cargo Advisory Council supports this vision. And IATA will do everything in its power to facilitate that.

Second - Ensuring digital standards are in place to support the global supply chain
We have finalized standards on tracking devices – the IATA Interactive Cargo guidelines - used to monitor the quality and accuracy of conditions of time and temperature sensitive goods being shipped across the world. And our participation in the European Commission’s project “FEDeRATED” is reaching completion after a 5-year development of interoperable technologies and data architectures for use in multi-modal transport.

Third - Ensuring compliance and support for customs, trade facilitation and other government processes that are increasingly digitalized
The modernization agenda also includes governments. A lot of work has been done by nations to agree on and to evolve strategies for trade facilitation, reduce operational barriers at borders and to manage the flows of goods securely. Digitalization plays an important role here. One example is IATA’s work supporting the roll out of the EU’s new Pre-Loading Advance Cargo Information (PLACI) System. PLACI went live on 1 March 2023 despite 12 European States not being ready and not having given definitive information about their timelines for readiness. We are working with these states to provide the necessary clarity to enable airlines to adapt their own implementation planning.

These are big projects. And they are pushing us in the right direction. But we need to move these forward even as the operating environment becomes more challenging."

Some 35 people participated in the 4th FEDeRATED LivingLab Workshop in Gothenburg, generously hosted by Trafikverket. Two days of intensive and energetic discussions, not in the least to identify and how to effectively apply the specific technical specifications for federated sharing of data at source between various platforms.

The current state-of-the-art play was discussed relating the ongoing LivingLabs (LL). Specific attention was giving to:

• stakeholder engagement to data sharing practices within the various LL business cases
• the current LL technical settings that should enable data sharing, whereby special attention was giving to incorporation of one or more FEDeRATED technical specifications
• to test the above in an operational setting.

In addition to the ongoing LivingLabs, 4 common LivingLabs were identified enabling the FEDERATED project to showcase how interoperability between the partners can concretely be realized. It is very  important to show there is a window of opportunities for realizing seamless multimodal transport operations.

The future of future proof data sharing inlogistics has only just begun. End 2023, during its Final Event,  FEDeRATED will deliver both-feet-on-the-ground foundations for realizing a viable EU Mobility Data Space in logistics. There is a huge potential for upscaling.

Witin the framework of the FEDERATED project, two papers were written to contribute to the Transport Reseach Agenda (TRA) 2022 Conference in Lisbon 14-17 November 2022. 

On  14 November, Trafikverket of Sweden presented  its paper : a federative approach to digital transport ecosystem innovation . The paper stresses the importance to strengthen situation awereness and sustanability in the supply chain through LivingLabs than can be successfully executed through data sharing demonstration platforms, The paper was written in close collaboration with RISE.

During the TRA Conferenced the paper was presented by Annica Roos, FEDeRATED Activity 3 - LivingLabs leader) and Jan Bergstrad of Trafikverket. Trafikverker is running 9 FEDeRATED Living Labs, using the Deplide as its data sharing demonstration platform. Deplide is developed and hosted by RISE.

A second paper was written by researchers from TNO  participating as advisors to the FEDeRATED project and IT Architectuer Board. The paper, called Towards a Mobility Data Space ,  elaborates on  the need to apply the concept of linked data as a stepping stone towards data sharing practices leading up to a concise Mobility Data Space framework. The importance of the linked data approach for a successful the ongoing   implementation of the FTI Regulation is a major focus area for the years to come..

On 18 and 19 October 2022, the FEDeRATED partners met in Brussels to discuss various issues, i.e.:

The Milestone 10 report - major stepping stone towards a future proof Masterplan  for federated data sharing  in logistics - was agreed. The report

• Translates the FEDeRATED  Reference data Sharing Architecture into the functional requirements and the technical specifications which, in connection to the organisational requirements, constitute the basis of the upcoming FEDeRATED Masterplan: the FEDeRATED data sharing grid. (Part 1 of Milestone 10)

• Assesses the FEDeRATED LivingLabs (Part 2 of Milestone 10) against:
  • the FEDeRATED Interim Masterplan,  i.e. the FEDeRATED Leading principles and technical components;
  • the FEDeRATED Reference data Sharing Architecture (as translated in Part 1 of Milestone 10)

The partners also discussed the prospect of:

• Extending the FEDeRATED after 2023  - implementing the current data sharing business cases, developing  new business cases, inviting new partners, and constituting a knowledge base assisting the EU DTLF executing its upcoming mandate;
• Continuation of a focus towards interoperability (especially LivingLab collaboration - common LivingLabs); and 
• Actively promote the FEDeRATED results and insights. Concepts as data at source, harmonized semantic interoperability, and the connection of the implementation of the eFTI Regulation with federated data sharing and the FEDeRATED semantic model need  more attention.

The practical knowledge acquired by the FEDeRATED partners through their LivingLabs is important to be communicated to a wide audience. Especially, because an increasing number of organisations have started to embrace the idea of data sharing as a policy goal, while lacking structurally acquired knowledge and experience. FEDeRATED can play an important role in preventing many organisations to reinvent the wheel.   Preferably, data sharing solutions should  neither be based on the promotion of propriety data spaces solutions, nor  the idea that supply chain bottlenecks can be solved through developing new standards. In data sharing for logistics, a one size fits all perspective is not the road to take.

Photo: The 18 FEDeRATED partner representatives united around the pink FEDeRATED banner on 19 October (hereunder)