Standards for transport data exchange in the supply chain – pilot studies Boguslaw Sliwczynski1, Marcin Hajdul1, Paulina Golinska2 1
Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, Estkowskiego 6, 61-755 Poznań, Poland 2 Poznan University of Technology, Strzelecka 11, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
Abstract Cooperation in the supply chain requires a lot of information exchange between different companies. In order to achieve appropriate data exchange open communication standards are needed which are commonly agreed and approved. In the field of logistics a number of standards already defined. The aim of the paper is to compare existing communication standards to the market needs and expectations. Authors present conclusions from pilot survey conducted within selected group of transport users and logistics service providers regarding information exchange by planning and execution of transport services. Keywords: communication standards, data exchange, transport services.
1. Introduction In order to ensure continuity and efficiency of product flow to the client as well as promptness and reliability of deliveries, it is necessary to coordinate cooperation with partners who have appropriate delivery potential, who are able to ensure required reliability and flexibility and who are able to react fast. Integration of numerous management areas results from data exchange within the process of common planning and scheduling of partners' operating activities in the supply chain. The intensive development of Business Intelligence and Competitive Intelligence tools, access to information from multi-dimensional data analysis [1] aggregated from various enterprise IT systems sources (usually in case of heterogeneous environments) has been significantly facilitated. Numerous possible cooperation modes within supply chain provoke interest in easy and quick exchange of electronic data among potential transport providers and
Standards for transport data exchange…. transport users [5]. Common access to electronic data relating to supply chains as well as transport services, electronic data exchange and electronic integration of planning, supply chains organisation and management of subcontractors' activities form the basis for the subsequent stage in the development of logistic outsourcing. The aim of the paper is to compare developing by numerous EU-funded projects and industry led initiatives such as GS1, Common Framework, a communication standard to the market needs and expectations. A ‘Common Framework’ is a framework for interoperability [4]. It consists of roles, business processes, ontology and messages to support interoperability in the main logistics processes, providing the information infrastructure to support modeindependent transport planning, compliance, cargo consolidation and visibility. This means simplification, mode integration, more collaboration among SC business partners and authorities, new skills and, in the end, more competitiveness in logistics. In this paper are presented conclusions from pilot survey, aiming at practical verification of the Common Framework, conducted within selected group of transport users and logistics service providers.
2. Data standards as the basis of cooperation between partners Standardisation of requirements regarding data exchange between players on the transport services market, including effective and efficient management by service providers, requires exchange of agreed information which is unambiguously defined and interpreted by all players on the services market. These standards should be: commonly and always available free of charge and must remain accessible to in the future. Moreover standards should be documented in all exploitation areas. There are over 400 standardisation initiatives recorded in the world. Standardisation in information systems covers many of their component parts used in electronic data exchange servicing: identification of the transaction object (product, service) and subject – e.g. GS1 standard: product identification – GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), location identification - GLN (Global Location Number), asset identification – GIAI (Global Individual Asset Identifier), GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier), unambiguous identification of information elements – e.g. country - ISO Country Codes, date, time - UN Numerical Representation of Dates, Times and Periods of Time, currency - UN Alphabetic Code of the Representation of Currencies, UN Codes for Units of Measurement used in International Trade (e.g. 1200 units), UN LOCODE - Code for Ports and other Locations, ISO/UN Trade Data Element Directory,
Boguslaw Sliwczynski, Marcin Hajdul, Paulina Golinska
document layouts and structures (layout keys) – e.g. UN Layout Key; including UN Aligned Invoice Layout Key, EDIFACT; EDI-XML GS1 arrangement of codes in documents - basis: UN Location Codes, unique identification code methodology – basis: UN Unique Identification Code Methodology, e-commerce self-regulatory instruments – basis: UN E-Commerce SelfRegulatory Instruments (Codes of Conduct), security and certification of information - W3C XML Signature, W3C XML Encryption, XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language), SAML (Security Assertions Markup Language), XKMS (XML Key Management), Web Services Flow Language, XML Digital Signature, description of the electronic services process in the area of public services – basis UN/CEFACT and OASiS ebXML Business Process Specifcation Schema and ebXML Catalog of Common Business Processes: BPEL4WS Business Process Execution Language for Web Services; description of the electronic communication system profile in the area of public services – basis: ebXML Collaboration Protocol Profile and Agreement Specification: UN/CEFACT and OASiS, Data exchange standardisation services in the area of e-commerce also include: use of open internet communication protocols syntaxes (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI, ebXML Messaging, RNIF, etc.), use of standards for security and certification of exchanged messages – e.g. W3C XML Signature, W3C XML Encryption, XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language), SAML (Security Assertions Markup Language), XKMS (XML Key Management), Web Services Flow Language, XML Digital Signature, Business Transaction Protocol and SOAP extentions), use of technical and technological standard translation adapters of data exchange in descriptions of electronic data exchange systems' profiles, use of reliable messaging mechanisms independent of the transport protocol which ensure reliable (e.g. once and only once) delivery of data and documents. Basic elements of such mechanism include: persistent storage - database of received documents, mechanisms to send confirmations and detect duplicates, an automated mechanism to re-send documents after timeout or in case of lacking confirmation, specifications of communications which check statuses of received documents and data packages, moreover, standardisation (currently, mostly in accordance with bilateral agreements) includes: reliability of synchronic and asynchronic exchange,
Standards for transport data exchange…. definitions of own reporting and error correction mechanisms, definitions of own mechanism for identification and authorisation of parties exchanging data and electronic documents. In addition to this a number of EU funded research and business development projects have been addressing the issues of information and communication technologies in transport and logistics. Traditionally, these projects have been quite autonomous and there has been little coordinated contact between the projects. This has, however, now changed. The partners in a number of projects have realised that there are project benefits that may be exploited from better cooperation. This view is also shared by the EU Commission. As industrial developments and the research community have reached similar conclusions, a joint initiative has been taken to improve interoperability considerably by developing Common Framework for exchange of information between ICT systems in transport and logistics. The Common Framework has a vision to become an umbrella of all major existing communication standards. The Common Framework supports interoperability between commercial actors and communication to authorities – to make the best possible use of the available transportation infrastructure, provide appropriate supply chain security, and support compliance requirements. Authors concentrated only on the part of the Common Framework which is dedicated to relation between transport user and transport service providers, mainly in European trade-lines. The main issue that appear by coordination of process in the virtual cooperation network is independency of technology in order to support the possibility of temporary relations and reconfiguration. In case of the transport process the requirements for the Common Framework have been identified [2], as: support multimodality (co-modality), be stable and easy to refine and expand, be future-oriented (independent of current solutions), provide a total picture (supporting transparency, management, and security), facilitate hiding of complexity (abstraction, simplification), focus on interoperability (not on inner parts of systems), independent of technology, facilitating interaction with existing standards (to help protect investments already made in legacy and other systems). Figure 1 presents basic information groups necessary to plan and supervise as well as monitor and report the provision of transport services and quick reaction possibilities in case deviations from the plan occur.
Boguslaw Sliwczynski, Marcin Hajdul, Paulina Golinska
Fig. 1. Standard groups of information exchange between supply chain players in the process of planning and provision of transport services, Source: [2]
Table 1 presents the purpose and scope covered by particular information groups which are used in planning and execution of transport services in the Common Framework. Table1. Examples of standard messages in transport process developed within Common Framework Information Description TSD (Transport Service Description)
TEP (Transport Execution Plan)
Purpose
Scope
TSD is used for a description of transport services suitable for automatic detection. It applicable for transfer of, operations in terminals, discharging, and additional services. TEP describes all the information needed related to the execution of a transport service between transport user and transport provider.
Description of service including: - scope of services, - prices, - type of cargo (food, electronics, ADR ect.), - type of packing units (pallets, ect) Remarks about the execution of the transport service, special conditions, delivery time, delivery location.
Standards for transport data exchange…. TES (Transport Execution Status)
TES provides information about the progress of the transport and of the cargo condition.
Description of the freight status (e.g. current freight conditions).
CRS (Common Regulatory Schema)
CRS provides information regarding regulation and monitoring of proper execution of transport services to the supervising authorities
Iindication of the container specific positioning information, using the Security Data Message
SDM (Security Data Message)
SDM gives information required by law on account of security of the transport system, traffic, transport services,
Definition a standard format for data provided Container Security Device (sealed load unit) with a reference to movement reference nr assigned by customs authorities, other information required by Import Control, System.
GII (Good Item Itinerary)
Provides information on the movement of goods on the whole way including transhipments
Description of the complete itinerary for a given goods item, including planned, estimated, and actual times for departure and arrival for each service.
TOS (Transport Operation Status)
TOS assists in establishing the best possible arrival time estimates.
Reports on transport execution status including deviations from planned routes and timetables.
TNS (Transportation Network Status)
TNS points out traffic, including information from the different transport modes.
Information on vehicle movements, obstacles, traffic jams.
3. Results of research on the use of transport information standards in supply chain enterprises The pilot survey was conducted among group of about 30 companies. The companies represent both transport users and transport providers. The research aims to compare the required data standards with the information which is actually used in the process of planning and provision of logistics and transport services. The research highlights the information exchange between the client/transport service recipient and transport service provider (fig. 2).
Boguslaw Sliwczynski, Marcin Hajdul, Paulina Golinska
Fig. 2. The Common Framework messages selected for the study
The group of respondents was asked about the application of common standards. The results are presented in fig.3. Do you achieved the defined implementation’s goals? Are the communications standard difficult to implement? Do you think communication standards between transport … Do you use electronic/automatic data exchange by cooperation Do you cooperate by transport planning based on communication …
0%
20%
40%
60%
80% 100%
Fig.3. Positive answers regarding the application of common communication standards
At present the analysed companies (transport providers and users) don’t use very often common communications standards (30% of positive answers). Most of the analysed transport providers use electronic data exchange (c.a.65%). In the open question the respondents have identified the main barriers which appear by implementation of communications standards: • high cost of implementation, • long time needed for implementation, • human factor ( difficulties with the staff training), • technical difficulties (system errors) in the initial stage of implementation. Most of companies (almost 90%) have declared that common communication standards are needed. Table 2 presents selected results of the comparison of information actually exchanged in the Polish transport services market in relation to international information standards regarding planning and provision of such services.
Standards for transport data exchange…. Table. 2 Comparison of information sent by transport users in practice and required by standard. The Common Framework standards for planning of transport services Data group Consignment
Detailed specifications Consignment ID Delivery Requirements
Number Of Transport Items
Sender (Company Code, Name, Details)
Receiver (Company Code, Name, Details)
Contract Reference
Document Preferences
Contract (ID, Name, Description; Include agreement of subcontractor services transport, storage handling, etc.) Declaration Date, Contract Expire Date, Min and Max Quantity Nomination Time Deadline for booking (in days prior transport start) Document Type eg. IMDG – Sea, ADR – Road, RID – Rail, IATA – Air; BL, dangerous
Real information used in practice by companies from ECR Poland on the market of transport services Pilot research Sample survey content results Non-standard order no.; consignment note no.; Standard for stack pallets; limited load operator renders the services of units storage, picking and transport Non-standard number and weight of parcels; number and weight of pallets; number and weight of containers; Load - GTIN code + our goods number + number of the goods delivered, number of loading meters of goods Yes City (typical error – the same city have different names in different databases, zip code (sometimes the same location have different zip codes in different databases) Yes City (typical error – the same city have different names in different databases, zip code (sometimes the same location have different zip codes in different databases) Non-standard Order no. (it can be at the SKU level, description of goods, number) Contract number, INCOTERMS 2010, delivery terms: FCA Payer for transport No data
Yes
Containers booking directly at the shipowner – e.g. for week 25
Yes
Type/ID of transport document, loading documents, ownership, insurance Details to be included in
Boguslaw Sliwczynski, Marcin Hajdul, Paulina Golinska goods description, customs declaration, etc.
documents: Number of consignment note Specially adapted EDI messages with information on the place and time of delivery. It is necessary to place the number of bulk packages (if there are any) and number of pallets in transport documents. Logistic information is agreed upon in advance with the operator;
4. Conclusions The analysis of research results regarding the comparison of the scope of information sent by transport users has led to a conclusion that compliance with the Common Framework for ICT in transport & logistics dedicated to the process of planning and provision of transport services reaches approx. 40%. The data standard model has been approved for the service commissioner - service provider relationship, however, authors have observed that there are currently numerous types of services between users of the transport systems, which influences the scope of sent information, like: outsourcing transport services to an external subcontractor – the supplier manages the fleet, transport commission – the loader manages and designs requirements for provided vehicles and ensures the return run (complex route data), outsourcing distribution to an external subcontractor, service provider executes the transport using a container ordered by the loader (interrelated service with two reception/loading points - container and freight - and two delivery points); the service provider delivers the container as an integral part of services covered by the contract/ order. The research has allowed the authors to recognise a few areas of significant differences between the practical application and assumptions of the Common Framework dedicated to the process of planning and provision of transport services. In practical terms, the GS1 [3] standard is applied in a much wider scope of exchanging information relating to provision of the transport service. It includes: EANCOM communication standards, standards for location identification based on the GLN code, identical for all forms of transport, identification standards regarding products, load and transport items.
Standards for transport data exchange…. By contrast, the TES communication (in the location description status) uses among others: UNLoc code, postal area zip code. The TSD communication is in practical applications sent in two directions: the client sends transport requirements: Transport Service Demand, the service provider sends a transport service offer: Transport Service Description. Analysed version of the Common Framework, TEP/TI transport commission did not include details of given products, data is limited to freight description. However, in the Polish transport services market practice detailed data refer to products and their identifiers (codes). They provide a link between data in the order and in the transport commission. In compliance with information standards, detailed product data is sent within GII/TIS data (Good Item Itinerary / Transport Item Status) - information on the movement of goods, sent by the provider of transport services (possibility to connect data from numerous services in road, rail, sea or air transport) whereas in the transport services market practice product data is already sent at the TEP/TI transport commission stage. In order to reach the goals of European Transport Policy is needed to increase the efficiency of transport services and infrastructure’s utilization with information systems and market-based incentives [6]. Some of the data used in practice may be allocated to certain information standard areas while it is difficult to allocate the majority of sent information to adequate fields in accordance with information standards. For example TSD data does not include specifications of serviced documents, the serviced transport relation, etc. Considering the above, it is advisable to verify and adopt in commercial practice the standard described in ‘Common Framework for Information and Communication Systems In Transport and Logistics’ which is strongly supporting by the European Commission and still developing by different research project like Comcis, eFreight or i-Cargo.
References [1] [2]
[3] [4] [5] [6]
Sołtysik-Piorunkiewicz, A. (2009), Controlling in Organisation and Management. Computerisation concept. Humanitas Publishing House. Sosnowiec. Pedersen T. J., Paganelli P., Knoors F., (2010), One Common Framework for Information and Communication Systems in Transport and Logistics, DiSCwise project deliverable, Brussels. GS1 (2010) GS1 standards in transport and logistics, GS1 Global Office, Brussels, 2010 www.discwise.eu (accessed 18th Dec. 2011) Hajdul M. (2010), Model of coordination of transport processes according to the concept of sustainable development, LogForum, No. 3(21), p. 45-55 Golinska P., Hajdul M. (2012) European Union Policy for sustainable transport system – challenges and limitations, [in:] Sustainable transport Golinska P., Hajdul M. (eds.), Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 3-20.
