DCSA: Driving Digitalisation in Container Shipping

Thomas Bagge has worked with the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) since its launch 2019, when he took the reins as CEO. 

In his role, he is responsible for for leading the team’s mission to drive digitalisation across the container shipping sector through technological innovation, collaboration with industry stakeholders and standardisation.

Here, Thomas tells Supply Chain Digital about the origins of the DCSA and how the organisation is working alongside the largest shipping carriers in the world. 

As CEO of the DCSA, what does a typical day entail? 

A typical day involves engaging with ecosystem stakeholders – including industry customers, members, technology service providers and regulators, to name a few.

While DCSA’s main offices are based in Amsterdam, we work as a distributed team. We spend a lot of time discussing the digitalisation roadmap, areas requiring regulatory harmonisation – such as customs processes – and how we can further collaboration between the many different actors involved.

Tell us more about the DCSA – why was it originally launched and what are its main objectives?

The DCSA was launched in 2019 to shape the digital future of container shipping. Founded by nine of the world’s top 10 container shipping lines, DCSA acts as a representative voice for the industry, working towards alignment and standardisation.

As part of this, we develop frameworks for universally interoperable solutions to facilitate a seamless digital trade ecosystem that connects stakeholders across the sector. The shared standards we create enable a better customer experience, data interoperability, greater efficiency and sustainability within container shipping. 

What activities are being undertaken by DCSA in collaboration with the world's largest shipping carriers? 

DCSA was founded by the world’s largest shipping carriers. As such, collaborating with carriers is intrinsic to what we do every day. 

Our Track and Trace API standard, for instance, was created to improve cargo visibility for industry customers and reduce technical complexity. Eight of our 10 carriers have adopted this, and this is expected to increase to nine this summer as more and more carriers converge on the standards we have created. Notably, in September 2023, less than 100 million APIs were called. In March this year, this increased to 137 million – an impressive 40% increase. 

Elsewhere, our scheduling standards (both commercial and operational) increase efficiency for all stakeholders – be they carriers, shippers, freight forwarders or feeder operators. 

We're also focused on improving our internal collaborative efforts by partnering with different companies, including technology service providers, feeder operators and terminal operators. Earlier this year, we welcomed Pacific International Lines (PIL) to DCSA, a move that will strengthen our offering and undoubtedly increase support for our mission. 

Beyond the shipping sector, we're in constant discussions with stakeholders from across the industry, including governments, regulators and solutions providers, to ensure seamless alignment across the ecosystem.  

What challenges are carriers facing when it comes to digitalisation?

While the shipping industry has made – and continues to make – significant progress towards digitalisation, barriers such as technical issues, insufficient investment, a disconnect between industry stakeholders and regulatory issues continue to impede progress. Cargo insurers, for instance, tend to highlight uncooperative external partners that are unwilling to share data as a main barrier to digitalisation. Meanwhile, some cargo owners accuse carriers of being resistant to change and preserving the status quo, highlighting a need for closer dialogue and collaboration. 

Notably, legal and regulatory hurdles constitute a significant obstacle. Earlier this year, we published a report exploring issues such as a lack of collaboration between governments and global organisations when it comes to standardising legal requirements – something that is essential to creating a safer, more efficient, sustainable trade environment. 

These challenges pose a particular issue for digital documents such as the electronic Bill of Lading (eBL). In certain jurisdictions, for instance, electronic documentation is not legally recognised. In others, while the eBL may be legally recognised as a document of title, its uptake is limited by complicated or ambiguous government procedures. Challenges also arise in jurisdictions where processes of government bodies, such as customs, are not globally harmonised – leading to complexity and undermining digital advancement. That said, we are encouraged by steps being taken by certain governments to overcome these challenges. In 2023, for instance, the UK passed the Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA), giving legal recognition to electronic trade documents such as the eBL.

Elsewhere, interoperability continues to undermine digitalisation efforts. For instance, there are a wide range of solutions providers offering digital platforms, but data cannot always be transferred from one to the next. This means that, in a specific transaction, all parties must be onboarded onto the same platform. Given the wide range of stakeholders operating with different parties across different transactions, this means an entity is unable to transfer documents to partners onboarded onto a different platform, hindering uptake.  

Shared standards can help combat this issue and are showing positive signs. DCSA’s Operational Vessel Schedules (OVS) 3.0, for instance, enables the automatic sharing of vessel schedule data and exception-related information between carriers, terminals and their solution providers. Data uniformity and transparency means operational partners don't have to second guess which update corresponds with a given service voyage or port call. That said, until these standards are widely adopted, uncertainty will continue to present a barrier. As such, while the industry is progressing at pace, there are a lot of stakeholders that still need to be engaged to adopt these standards. 

Tell us about DCSA's Bill of Lading standard – why is it important?

Our eBL standard is a key initiative in our mission to deliver digital transformation. The Bill of Lading (B/L) is one of a number of paper-based documents that needs to be digitalised in order to achieve 100% paperless trade. Currently, a lack of regulatory enablement and adoption of standardised data attributes are making the transition slower than necessary. DCSA’s eBL standards enable data to be transferred seamlessly across platforms – making adoption easier and faster, while improving costs and accessibility across the industry. Our standards will be crucial to helping the industry achieve 100% eBL. 

Of course, scaling the eBL requires cross-industry collaboration. To facilitate this, in 2022, DCSA partnered with BIMCO, FIATA, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and SWIFT to launch the Future of International Trade (FIT) Alliance. The alliance aims to facilitate industry-wide adoption of the eBL and, in 2023, introduced the Declaration of the electronic Bill of Lading to unite international stakeholders in accelerating digitalisation across the shipping sector. To date, the declaration has received more than 100 signatures.

This collaborative effort is critical to making paperless trade a reality and underscores the importance of collective action. In turn, this will support the creation of an interoperable ecosystem where digital processes are more efficient, secure and sustainable, and one that is able to keep pace with global trade growth – which is expected to double in real terms by 2050. 

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