The IBM Secure Trade Lane solution

The IBM Secure Trade Lane (STL) is a comprehensive new global logistics information platform. It gives global supply chain stakeholders access to information on demand, allowing real-time access and response to physical cargo monitoring data as well as the related logistics transaction data. For the first time, shipments can be monitored from the manufacturer to the store, so related activities such as port operations can be optimized.

Shipping plays a key role in the global economy. Without shipping, intercontinental trade, the transport of raw materials, manufactured goods, and food would simply not be possible. The international shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of 90% of world trade. Every year, 50,000 merchant ships transport more than 6 billion tons of goods in some 20 million maritime containers.

In this age of just-in-time manufacturing and supply, containers are virtual warehouses that move goods from their origin to destination via an intricate set of processes that often involve more than ten different service providers, government representatives, or intermediaries. Market and customer pressures demand that the complex operations of these virtual warehouses be optimized and this has implications for both the public and private parties in the trade lane.

Governments are pressured to improve clearance speed and to reduce the cost and burden on trade to support global, integrated, just-in-time supply chain requirements. Moreover, security must be drastically improved in these times of increased terrorist threats and security breaches — currently only a mere 2-4% of the transported containers are physically inspected. These needs are driving changes in public policy that will have effects throughout the industry.

Compliance with new public laws and regulations as well as the demand from customers for greater performance in the supply chain — shorter global delivery times, reduced costs, and improved operational efficiencies — will confront all the public and private parties in the trade lane with new challenges in terms of security, reliability, liability, visibility, and efficiency of container shipments.

The IBM Secure Trade Lane is a comprehensive new global logistics information platform that addresses all the challenges mentioned above by providing unprecedented levels of supply chain efficiency and security. It gives global supply chain stakeholders access to information on demand, allowing real-time access and response to physical cargo monitoring data as well as the related logistics transaction data such as order information, invoices, financial data, bills of lading, manifests, etc.

A high-level view of the STL architecture is shown in Fig. 1. At the heart of this solution is the TREC (Tamper-Resistant Embedded Controller), an intelligent wireless monitoring device (see Fig. 2) which is mounted on the container. Information provided by the TREC is made available to the supply chain participants through the Shipment Information System (SIS) (see Fig. 3). The latter coordinates the sharing of information among authorized parties using proved information technology techniques and tools.

Tamper-Resistant Embedded Controller (TREC)

The TREC platform has two primary functions: (1) to create an audit trail of container movements and events from its point of origin to its destination; and (2) to make this information available to authorized entities, allowing them to perform risk analysis, to assess the container's security and integrity, and to optimize the efficiency of container shipments. The TREC device automatically collects information on container events, including physical location based on GPS, state of the container such as temperature, humidity, ambient light, acceleration, and door status. It can communicate with the backend over satellite communication, a cellular system (GSM/GPRS), or a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) based on ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 radio. A handheld device can also be used to communicate with the TREC over a WPAN. The TREC incorporates significant processing power, which enables it to analyze events and take appropriate actions. For example, opening of the door within a predefined geographic zone by an authorized person is an event that is logged; but opening of the door outside of the predefined zone or by an unauthorized person will trigger the sending of an alert to the backend server monitoring the status of the containers.

Shipment Information System (SIS)

As shown in Fig. 3, the TREC devices are connected wirelessly to a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) through a secure, fully integrated network that links to the SIS — an SOA-based (service-oriented architecture-based) distributed network enabling end-to-end data collection and reporting. Together they enable manufacturers, customers and any authorized member of the logistics network to view cargo integrity and location. Each participant owns and manages its own data through decentralized databases, ensuring full customer control over data access and privacy.

The IBM Secure Trade Lane solution will be composed of four service packages:

Status

The STL concept and the first TREC prototypes were developed at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory with the support of IBM Business Consulting Services. In September 2005, IBM and Maersk Logistics, of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, announced a partnership for pursuing the development of the STL solution. Several hundreds of TREC prototypes have now been built by the IBM Engineering and Technology Services in Main, Germany. The SIS prototype is in development at the IBM European Business Solution Centre (EBSC), La Gaude, France, and the IBM Global Business Solution Center, Bangalore, India. IBM is participating in a large-scale international research project entitled Information Technology for Analysis and Intelligent Design for e-Government (ITAIDE), sponsored by the European Union. The intent of the project is to define and, using the Secure Trade Lane solution, pilot ways to make international trade safer while reducing the administrative burden.