The Bureau International des Containers (BIC) and the Ship Message Design Group (SMDG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize their collaboration on a new Global Container Geofence Library.
The agreement was signed on 8 July at the Palais des Nations, the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.
The MoU cements the new joint initiative, which aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of geofencing data used in the shipping and logistics industry. The signing took place during the UN/CEFACT forum at which a newly published UN white paper on Geofencing was announced.
It marks a significant milestone in the partnership between BIC and SMDG and their joint efforts to enhance global shipping standards. The new endeavor builds on the success of the Global Container Facility Code API, launched by the two organizations in 2022.
“This MoU represents a step forward in our efforts to standardize and improve the accuracy of geofencing data across the industry and helps build a stable foundation for wide adoption of IoT-equipped containers,” says Douglas Owen, Secretary General of BIC. “Our continued collaboration with SMDG reflects the industry’s desire to collaborate and to adopt standards that ensure reliable and consistent data for all stakeholders in the supply chain.”
Michael Schroeder, board member of SMDG, commented, “We are excited to deepen our partnership with BIC. The Global Container Geofence Library is already on its way to becoming a valuable resource for the industry, helping the industry to adopt smart containers and improving the overall efficiency of supply chains worldwide.”
The new MoU coincided with the release of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) white paper titled “Geofencing Facilities in Transport and Logistics”.
More than 30 experts from ocean carriers, IoT (Internet of Things) providers and supply chain experts from around the world collaborated on the paper, which outlines recommendations and methodology to provide consistency in the drawing and reviewing of geofences for terminals and other container handling facilities within the supply chain. The geofences are published in the Global Container Geofence Library and linked to the already standardized global facility codes maintained by BIC and SMDG. The BIC Facility Code and SMDG Terminal Code are both child codes of the UN/LOCODE and are widely used for electronic container event message exchanges (EDIFACT and API).
The collaboration between BIC and SMDG further supports the adoption and standardization of smart container technologies and addresses the current challenges in implementing geofences.
