CORE Launches New Internet of Logistics Demonstrator

The CORE project team has launched the Internet of Logistics (Idol) demonstrator to key stakeholders at a showcase event in Rotterdam. The purpose of the conference held at Erasmus University, was to collaborate with industry and customs executives to ensure CORE remains relevant to those who will, one day, use and benefit from the solutions being developed. Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management hosts Europe's only Master program, Customs & Supply Chain Compliance, meeting European Commissions' standards for Customs Professionals in Trade and Government.

CORE (Consistently Optimized Resilient Secure Global Supply-Chains), is a four-year R&D project, part funded by the EU under the Seventh Framework program consisting of more than 70 partners including: FloraHolland; MAERSK; DHL; Descartes; BSH Electrodomésticos España; Dutch Customs; UK Customs; World Customs Organization (WCO); Interpol; European Shippers Council; European Freight Forwarders Association (CLECAT); TNO and TU Delft. IBM will join as a new partner for this demonstrator. CORE is designed to enhance the protection and security of the global supply chain, while reducing its vulnerability to disruption.  

After familiarizing the attending stakeholders with the aims and objectives of the CORE program, delegates were introduced to the IoL demonstrator, described as a network of physical devices such as vehicles, containers, pallets and vessels which are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data for logistics purposes.

The project team went on to describe the considerable steps that have been made towards making this a reality with the development of the Shipping Information Pipeline (SIP), a federated architecture creating the network connectivity for IoL, which is based on the Data Pipeline concept. The team presented a customs dashboard for customs administrations, enabling them to connect to the SIP and collect more accurate data from the relevant supply chain partners about imported goods, which leads to effective de-risking of consignments in trusted trade lanes.

The next major events in relation to the SIP will be an early pilot involving a small number of containers trading between Mombasa and Rotterdam.  This will be followed by a full pilot towards the end of 2016 involving various shippers that trade many containers between Savannah (US) and Rotterdam, culminating in a large scale pilot starting in November/December 2016 which will involve multiple shippers and ports, as well as a large number of containers.