Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), announced their joint collaboration to accelerate adoption of DCSA standards and enable a better customer experience for shippers.
The associations will leverage DCSA’s open-source, vendor-neutral standards to help operators and other business partners make data exchange more timely, accurate and interoperable.
DCSA and the ESC will collaborate in three main ways. First, both organisations will invest time and resources in helping members adopt and implement DCSA standards to address their most pressing needs. This is likely to include the participation of ESC members in proof-of-concept trials and pilots, as well as ongoing education and training and the promotion of successes for best practice learning.
Second, DCSA and the ESC will share knowledge and contribute regularly to each other’s member forums.
Lastly, DCSA will gather input from ESC members to optimise existing standards and ensure future standards are developed in close alignment with the needs of shippers.
DCSA publishes and promotes digital standards that, when adopted by organisations throughout the supply chain, will enable interoperable IT solutions in container shipping. Standardising documents such as the bill of lading to enable paperless trade is also a key topic for the collaboration. By working together, DCSA and the ESC will carry out structured, cross-member engagement activities to ensure DCSA standards meet shipper needs and facilitate adoption.
Commenting on the collaboration, Thomas Bagge, Chief Executive Officer for DCSA, said:
The lack of digitalisation limits progress towards greater transparency and end-to-end, real-time cargo visibility. We can only bring about digital transformation together
