Cargo Standard: The Next Turning Point in Logistics Digitalization

Event Overview

Global investment in logistics digitization continues to accelerate, with ports launching berth optimization, shipping companies testing Just-in-Time (JIT) arrival, and governments and alliances exploring green digital corridors. However, end-to-end integration remains elusive. Recently, a joint article by Mikael Lind and over ten industry experts pointed out that the crux of the problem lies not in insufficient data or platforms, but in the industry coordination logic—shifting from an asset-centric to a cargo-centric approach. This viewpoint is prompting supply chain decision-makers to rethink.

Supply Chain Background

Traditional logistics digitization takes assets—ships, trucks, trains, terminals—as the unit of analysis. The goal is to improve the utilization and productivity of these assets. However, the true need of cargo owners is the reliability and predictability of the entire chain. Improvements brought by asset optimization are often confined to a single link: ports reduce turnaround time, shipping companies optimize schedules, railways improve vehicle utilization, but what shippers care about is whether the cargo arrives within the expected window, and whether they can obtain credible information and respond to disruptions in a timely manner.

In a globalized supply chain, a typical international freight movement involves multiple links such as inland transport, terminals, ocean shipping, and distribution networks. Each link is operated by different entities, and data systems are isolated from each other. This fragmentation makes it difficult for any single-point improvement to propagate across the entire chain.

Enterprise Decision Logic

Why is it still difficult for enterprises to achieve true end-to-end integration? The fundamental reason lies in the misalignment of coordination logic. When digital tools are built around assets, the incentive for improvement remains local. For example, a port optimization system improves terminal efficiency but cannot resolve subsequent railway delays; a shipping company's control tower shows vessel position but cannot inform when cargo will be released from port.

The new paradigm proposed in the article is: digital coordination should follow the flow of goods. The cargo itself becomes the natural unit of coordination. This means that information and decisions must move with the cargo, rather than being locked in separate siloed systems. The Virtual Watch Tower (VWT) is a concrete practice of this logic: it does not centralize logistics data into one platform, but enables distributed data sharing for specific shipments. The cargo owner provides basic information and grants limited authorization; carriers, terminals, and logistics providers request and exchange operational information as needed while retaining data control.

For manufacturing enterprises, such as factories using JIT production, when multiple imported parts are transported through different ports and carriers, connecting through a VWT network allows all parties to share public information (e.g., weather, port congestion) and private operational data, thereby anticipating risks, evaluating alternative routes, and coordinating priorities. In this way, participants that previously operated independently form a temporary coordination system around the same shipment.

Supply Chain Impact

• This shift will impact global supply chains across multiple dimensions:- Procurement cost and delivery lead time: Cargo-centric coordination reduces delays and inventory buffers caused by information asymmetry. It is expected that the volatility of delivery lead time will decrease by 15-20%.
• Inventory levels: Higher visibility supports more accurate inventory planning, allowing factories to reduce safety stock and free up working capital.
• Transport efficiency: Through community-based coordination, empty runs and duplicate scheduling are avoided, improving network utilization.
• Supplier management: Shippers can clearly monitor the logistics performance of each supplier, promoting survival of the fittest.
• Risk exposure: Decentralized risk exposure – a single point of failure no longer affects the whole, because alternatives can be evaluated in real time.
• Supply chain resilience: Community-based data sharing enables the ecosystem to quickly reorganize and coordinate in the face of disruptions.
• Digitalization/ESG/Transparency: The exchange of carbon emission data requires the same logic; a community-based architecture enables more credible emission tracking to meet ESG requirements.

Regional Impact

• Asia: As the global manufacturing center and largest trading region, Asian ports and shipping companies can take the lead in piloting community-based solutions like VWT. However, the willingness of small and medium-sized cargo owners to share data still needs to be cultivated.
• Europe: The digital transport and logistics ecosystem promoted by the EU (e.g., eFTI) aligns with the community logic, and policies can accelerate adoption. Nordic countries (such as Sweden) have already seen practical cases.
• North America: Large retailers and manufacturers may play a leading role, but legal and regulatory requirements for data privacy need to be considered in the framework design.
• Middle East, Latin America, Africa: Infrastructure is relatively weak; community-based approaches can avoid heavy investment in centralized platforms and rely more on existing mobile communications and cloud services for lightweight data exchange.

Future Trends

1. From platform-centric to community-centric: Instead of pursuing a single control tower, build distributed community infrastructure, such as VWTnet, whose value grows exponentially with the number of participants. 2. Role shift of cargo owners: Shippers transform from passive buyers of transport services to community activators, driving carriers and service providers to jointly set rules by proposing requirements for visibility, emissions, and disruption management. 3. Standardization and interoperability: To support cross-community data exchange, the industry needs to develop unified data protocols and sharing rules. Current initiatives (such as OpenAPI for Logistics) may accelerate this. 4. Integration with green corridors: Digital communities combine with decarbonization goals, allowing real-time calculation and verification of the carbon footprint of each shipment, thereby creating green incentives. 5. Lowering barriers for SME participation: Low-cost lightweight digital tools (such as mobile applications) will enable small cargo owners to join the community, avoiding the digital divide.Conclusion: The future of logistics digitalization lies not in building larger control towers, but in establishing a distributed coordination network around the flow of goods. Shippers, carriers, ports, and logistics providers need to jointly build a community-based digital collaboration architecture. Companies that act now will shape the evolution direction of the global logistics ecosystem.