Transportation demand is forecasted to triple by 20501. Keeping track of that intensification of transportation is imperative for all supply chain stakeholders. Motivated by factors such as operational efficiency standards, competitive pressures, heightened customer expectations and governmental regulations, both public and private organizations are searching for mechanisms to reduce risks by gaining data-driven visibility into the physical location, condition, and context of their products and assets2. Universal track and trace capabilities will enable digital ecosystems to flourish, overcoming current logistics inefficiencies. Companies will have full visibility and sovereignty3 over their supply chains as part of fully interconnected logistics networks so that transport assets and resources are used for optimum efficiency. Unfortunately, today transport and logistics do not offer these universal track and trace capabilities.
The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) defined a Cross-Industry Supply Chain Track and Trace Project in 2018, which was initiated in early 2020. The project’s primary focus is on tracking and tracing during transportation covering the movement of trade deliveries (shipments) from seller to buyer via one or moretransport contracts (consignments) and one or more transport modes.