Digital standardization in container shipping is progressing

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) was founded in Amsterdam in 2019. What was the main motivation for this step?

The aim of the founding companies MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen, Yang Ming, HMM and ZIM was and still is the transformation of our industry into the digital age. To this end, we want to work with stakeholders along the entire value chain to create common standards for technical interfaces to improve communication between different systems and enable smooth data exchange.

Why is the introduction of digital standards in the industry so important?

Firstly, digital standards increase visibility and reliability in booking processes and dispatch planning. This allows commitments to be kept and potential disruptions to be identified at an early stage. At the same time, the introduction of digital standards is also very important in terms of streamlining operations and reducing manual tasks, as this improves efficiency but also reduces costs and response times. It can also minimize the risks that can arise in connection with documentation errors. The bottom line is that the introduction of digital standards can only benefit everyone involved.

How far have you come along this path to date?

We have made great progress in the last five years. Thanks to good cooperation with all stakeholders in container shipping, 74 percent of the data attributes that define the various characteristics or properties of data and help to better organize and analyze them have already been standardized. This corresponds to a 92 percent share of the total data flow. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, the number of standards implemented by our members tripled. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement.

Where do you see the biggest obstacles and challenges on the way to integrating new digital standards in the industry?

Implementing and maintaining digital standards requires specialized knowledge and resources, which are often scarce. In addition, existing IT systems and platforms of many companies are very heterogeneous, which makes seamless data flow difficult in the long term. Dependency on suppliers for managing digital standards can also lead to inconsistencies and inefficiencies, especially if they are not coordinated. Another challenge is the cooperation and communication between the individual specialist departments such as IT, logistics, legal and operations, which is often not geared towards this goal. 

But I am confident that we will continue our successful path. After all, since 2019, not only the necessity but also the understanding of the importance of digital standards has grown among all those involved. Our members represent over 70% of global ocean container shipments. DCSA standards are open-source and accessible to all stakeholders, enabling widespread adoption. Building on this foundation, we remain committed to advancing the implementation of digital standards across the industry.