D SCW SE Supported by Directorate General Enterprise and Industry Digital Supply Chains for European SMEs (by using a Common Framework for ICT in Transport & Logistics) What is DiSCwise? DiSCwise is a European demonstration action aiming to improve the competitiveness of the transport & logistics sector in Europe, through the smart use of ICT. It seeks to improve the supply chain management in the sector and get stakeholders more connected, in particular smaller sized enterprises, by assisting their integration into efficient co-modal supply chains. This will help smaller enterprises in the transport and logistics sector to connect efficiently with key market actors and thus emerge to global business players. www.discwise.eu
The European transport and logistics sector is one of the key business sectors in Europe, performing millions of operations and involving thousands of companies every day. Assuring the integration of these operations is a cornerstone of EU policy and a basis for the competitiveness of these compa nies. The absence of common processes, a common language and common standards for interoperability is a key obstacle to achieving integration. Moreover, any supporting technology to be applied should be highly reliable, accessible and low cost. The DiSCwise project makes use of a Common Framework for ICT in Transport & Logistics. The Common Framework enables interoperability in co-modal transportation. It consists of roles, business processes, ontology and messages to support interoperability in the domains of logistics demand & supply, supply chain security & compliance and cooperative traffic management systems. The Common Framework enables companies to exchange data and share processes with other companies. It is not a software program, but rather a set of specifications and guidelines that allow interaction between the different data exchange systems used by clients and providers of transport & logistics services. The Common Framework can be used by IT staff to adapt their in-house systems to exchange data adequately. The DiSCwise project builds on the Common Framework to allow Transport & Logistics Service users, including SMEs, to more easily use sustainable transport alternatives. Making the services available via a web interface or at low cost integration provides them with a choice of transport alternatives and contributes to a more competitive transport & logistics marketplace. Using interoperability standards and a web-based collaboration platform, the boundaries between clients and providers of logistics services are overcome. The interoperability standards hold the necessary information to agree on the planning, booking and execution of transport & logistics services, whereas the collaboration platform makes it possible to connect clients and providers, in particular SMEs, with minimal integration effort. The DiSCwise project aims to Develop, Demonstrate and Deploy a Common Framework for Interoperability in the Transport and Logistics Sector in an effort to: Integrate small and medium sized providers of transport & logistics services into efficient supply chains at affordable cost. Enable all transport users, regardless of their dimension, to select environment-friendly alternatives. Make European supply chains more efficient by providing state-ofthe-art visibility and collaboration capabilities. DiSCwise approach The integration of small and medium sized companies into co-modal supply chains requires three essential capabilities: The transport & logistics services offered by providers must be visible and easy to use by their clients as part of co-modal doorto-door transport chains. Interactions between stakeholders must be easily established at a cost affordable to all. Organisations already able to communicate electronically using existing solutions and standards like UN/CEFACT or UBL standards should not be obliged to replace their existing investments. 2/3 DiSCwise Partners: BMT Group Ltd, UK Descartes, Canada Fordesi, Portugal Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, Poland Logit Systems, Norway Marlo, Norway SINTEF, Norway
How DiSCwise will work For those who have insufficient ICT capabilities, DiSCwise will provide two low cost applications, the User Application and the Provider Appli cation. These applications may be accessed using a web browser. For those who have installed ICT capabilities already, DiSCwise intro duces connectors to enable communication using the Common Framework messages. The tools and systems demonstrated in DiSCwise are based on integration and do not require replacing existing ICT-applications. Benefits For Users DiSCwise offers a method to electronically plan and execute co-modal logistics activities. The User Application will be used to: Consult availability of transport & logistics services including information about timing, cargo features and other relevant service attributes that may be presented. Optimise logistics planning based on the availability of transport & lo gi stics services, advice will be provided as to which co-modal logistics a lternative can be used. Execute the preferred logistics alternative the chosen alternative will be executed and monitored in order to achieve both reliability in delivery and efficiency in handling individual operators. Hamburg Prerov/Czech Republic Melnik Inland Port Melnik Hamburg Export Terminal Hamburg Export Terminal Prerov/Czech Republic Prerov Figure 1: Transport alternatives: Direct truck or truck and inland waterway transport How can DiSCwise benefit the wider transport sector? DiSCwise proposes to improve the integration of small and medium sized transport & logistics service providers into efficient digital supply chains, allowing clients to make more informed choices regarding the planning and execution of transport & logistics services. Co-modality is made easy-to-use for SMEs by enabling them to plan and execute door-to-door transport chains in which multiple services are being combined. Figure 2: Alternative transport chains In the simple example shown in Figure 1, where cargo is to be transported from Prerov in the Czech Republic to Hamburg, two transport alternatives are visible: one using direct truck transport and one using a combination of truck and inland barge. In addition to being shown on a map, the executed transport chains will be visualised as the example in Figure 2, where information about timing, cargo and other relevant service attributes may be presented. For Providers Interoperability, Standards, Common Framework To improve the interoperability of ICT systems in transport and logistics, DiSCwise develops the Common Framework for transport and logistics information systems by focusing on two main pillars: Interoperability and Standards. Interoperability allows the integration of the systems of different stakeholders within the supply chain so that they can easily communicate and exchange data based on agreed and pre-arranged structure and content. This includes publishing, ordering and reporting status on the execution of transport & logistics services. Standards ensure a common understanding of information exchanged, including a way of identifying, classifying, procuring and delivering products or services. Within DiSCwise this approach is being applied to transport & logistics services. 4/5 DiSCwise offers capabilities for publishing the availability of transport & logistics services and enables providers to accept orders from their clients. The Provider Application will be used to: Publish available transport & logistics services to potential clients in a standardised format. Negotiate electronically with clients to enable terms and conditions to be agreed efficiently. Report status of transport, cargo and load unit to clients so that complete visibility is achieved.
Demonstrators In order to validate the project assumptions, the DiSCwise solutions will be tested by 3 demonstrators, involving small, medium and large enterprises. Flanders pilot: Integration of customs compliance activities Customs clearance is an administrative service normally provided by freight forwarders or customs agents. Within the Common Framework, compliance management is executed by customs authorities. It can be combined with other transport & logistics services in order to facilitate deliveries from ports to final destinations. Customs agents can reuse the information contained in the so-called Transport Execution Plan (TEP) complying efficiently with reporting requirements. The objective of the Flemish pilot is to demonstrate how Customs compliance activities can be integrated within a co-modal logistics chain. Reduced number of clerical errors Cost savings in import/export/transit declarations Fewer shipments belated declarations that may generate Customs fines Reduced lead time for last mile from port to hinterland or vice versa More reliable door-to-door services Polish pilot: Sharing supply chains to enable co-modality Current business suffer from problems such as: short term planning, excessive use of road transport, lack of cooperation, traffic congestion and delays in delivery. The pilot aims to demonstrate a cooperative business model that will be facilitated through data exchange along the supply chain, by large and small companies alike, using the Common Framework. New business and operational models for vertical and horizontal cooperation between shippers, freight forwarders and providers of transport & logistics services with the aim to increase load factors, reducing transport costs through co-modality. Cost and benefit analyses for both logistics service clients and providers. Portuguese pilot: Integrating rail & road in door-to-door services Communication between shippers, freight forwarders and logistic service providers (LSPs) involved in door-to-door freight transport by rail and road is often based on tools such as spreadsheets and/or document editors, transmitted by e-mail, fax or, sometimes even just on telephone conversation notes. This apparoach is highly time-consuming, inaccurate and leads to serious delays and errors. The objective of the Portuguese pilot is to use the Common Framework to establish a new platform for integration and communication among these actors. The work will be focused on a close partnership between the freight forwarder (Iberian Steel) and the other partners through an operational model for co-operation, while assuring a flexible approach that enables wider use in the future. The platform will allow seamless booking and management of services, by providing advanced communication means among shippers, freight forwarders and logistic service providers (LSPs) throughout the logistic transport chain. Improved visibility of door-to-door shipments Reduced effort related to transport coordination Reduced number of clerical mistakes Improved reliability of the door-to-door chain More visibility and more reliable door-to-door lead time Reduced efforts related to transport coordination Reduced transport costs Fewer clerical errors 6/7
To learn more about the DiSCwise project and how it can benefit you, please contact: discwise-pm@bmtproject.net www.discwise.eu