Visibly shared logistics

The international container logistics industry faces problems of efficiency and security. Both have the same root, in supply chain visibility, whereby pertinent data can be shared between business and governments.

Funded by the EU, the CASSANDRA (Common assessment and analysis of risk in global supply chains) project aimed to enable such sharing. The outcome was intended to provide a clearer assessment of risks by both parties, based on container monitoring. Other goals included building interfaces among existing solutions and tools, demonstrating the benefits on major trading routes and building a consensus. The consortium included 26 partners and ran between June 2011 and August 2014.

The project initially described the trends in global supply chain management, in addition to current practices in information sharing. Results formed a basis for subsequent research on risk management, which included establishing a method for determining the nature of the information and risks. The stage yielded a draft architecture for the proposed integration. CASSANDRA also started construction of the phase one pipeline, and a second proof-of-concept phase has been initiated.

Second-year work involved development of the project's information technology aspects, including specifications for the integration architecture and interfaces, plus a security framework. Other work during the same period involved specifying the match between trade lane and use cases, and establishing contact with American authorities. The trade lane revealed shortcomings in existing processes that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Further steps involved creation of a practical risk assessment handbook for the industry. The project has lately begun an evaluation phase, in addition to various dissemination activities.

The CASSANDRA project achieved a system for sharing information between stakeholders in container logistics.