Data is the key to improving productivity and efficiency in the supply chain

Data is the key to improving productivity and efficiency in the supply chain.

Improving the tracking and traceability of goods is a critical priority for supply chains.

Data is the key to improving productivity and efficiency in the supply chain.

Data is the oil that lubricates the flow of freight across the nation, but in the immortal world of Sol, the Mob Mechanic, “oils ain’t oils.” At present, industry and government use different data systems and standards that cannot “talk” to each other. This failure to translate is at the heart of the work to develop a single freight data standard, that will help tracking all freight areas and provide information to help inform planning, regulatory and infrastructure investment decisions and improve productivity and efficiency.

In 2018, the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities commissioned the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Australia’s leading applied research centre in the transportation and mobility sector, a comprehensive analysis of the state of play with freight data in Australia. The study, when it was released in 2019, was a sobering read for all in the industry.

“We found a highly fragmented environment in which much data is collected, but its inconsistency and dispersed storage severely reduces its usefulness,” says iMove managing director Ian Christensen. “In fact, we found chaos.”

Christensen says iMove found “something like 350 different freight databases, but the trouble was, they were not in any way connected. They spoke in different languages, they used different definitions and were unable to be compared one to another. We had a mosaic of more than 350 bits of isolated information that couldn’t be connected, and it was dysfunctional.”

The study appalled the industry and, in turn, the government which pushed for further action. In late 2019, the government, in co-operation with iMOVE and selected industry partners, commenced work on a set of joint Freight Industry Data Exchange Pilot Projects, aimed at improving the visibility of, and access to, freight consignment event message information across all parties involved in the handling and transport of several different product supply chains.

The initial Freight Data Exchange Pilot Projects were designed as three separate related projects to investigate, develop and demonstrate the capability for supply chain partners to share freight consignment information in real time; and also, to assess the feasibility of aggregating freight consignment event/message data to produce aggregate outputs that help inform infrastructure planning and policy priorities.

The projects involved companies including Woolworths, Nestle and Toll Group.

It involved three pilot trials – two with Nestle, Woolworths, Toll, and steelmaker and recycler Infrabuild – and a third with standards organisation GS1 Australia to deal with data aggregation.

The freight data sharing trials found limited access to real-time data was adding to delivery delays. The glaring problem, says Christensen, is sharing – and a failure to think holistically.

“In today’s fast-paced, highly competitive freight industry, the factor that distinguishes high performers is the intensity of their data usage,” he says. “Going forward, however, it is not just individual freight operators that have to perform well, but the whole system must operate seamlessly.”

Improving the tracking and traceability of goods is a critical priority for supply chains. And that requires active sharing of freight data among the relevant stakeholders.

“Despite each company’s fierce independence, we now have to work together to co-ordinate the movement of goods along supply chain,” says Christensen. “Freight operations overseas are working vigorously to reduce ‘transactional friction’ along supply chains. Australian businesses need to catch up and recognise the importance of sharing data to maintain the competitiveness of local supply chains.

“We need in Australia to take bolder steps to embrace data and increase information-sharing along supply chains, or risk being out-competed by overseas operators who are already reaping the efficiency benefits.

“If we don’t lift our game Australian productivity could fall further behind, and our competitiveness will be seriously undermined.”

All of the work culminated in the government committing $5.2m in 2019 to the design of a National Freight Data Hub (NFDH), with the prototype website launching in June 2021, with a further provision in 2021 from Canberra of $16.5m (over four years) to establish the hub.

Designed, with considerable industry input, by the Department of Infrastructure, the NFDH is envisioned as a resource of freight data – for industry, government and other interested parties – aimed at directly improving the efficiency, safety and resilience of the freight sector.

Consultation to design the NFDH identified three key challenges that limit the usability of Australia’s freight data:

Lack of co-ordination and leadership across industry and government in the approach to freight data is undermining strategic planning;

Operational freight data is not captured or visible, meaning supply chain risks cannot be proactively managed;

Australia’s freight sector is not fully capitalising on data and analytics, making it difficult to generate insight to improve performance.

“The challenges of the past year have put a spotlight on the need for industry and government to work closely together across supply chains to deliver for the community, says Ben Newton, head of transport development for Woolworths Group.

“The hub is a significant step forward in this collaboration, leveraging real-time data to achieve greater efficiency, safety and productivity outcomes across the transport network,” he says.

However, even with the hub, there was a crucial element missing; the need to share data in a consistent manner, which can only be done if the data is standardised. To that end, the Australian Logistics Council (ALC), in partnership with industry, GS1 and Transport Certification Australia (TCA), has developed a single freight data standard for Australia’s freight logistics industry.

GS1 offered the global data EPCIS (electronic product code information services) standard and the associated core business vocabulary (CBV) that provides the framework for the interoperable sharing of information about the physical movement and the status of objects, including products, materials, shipments etc. as they travel the supply chain.

TCA, provided the national telematics framework, which is aligned with ISO15638, which allows for collaboration between telematic systems.

Launched in December 2020, the data standard is designed to provide the framework for the interoperable sharing of information about the movement of freight and vehicles as they travel the supply chain.

“We designed the single data standard to answer the overwhelming need to share data in a consistent manner,” says Brad Williams, chief executive officer of the Australian Logistics Council (ALC).

“For industry, this means improved visibility of freight consignments, interoperability between supply-chain partners, and helping response to supply-chain delays, bottlenecks or errors.”

The data standard has elements separated into layers, which can be used independently or collectively, depending on the needs of the user, says Williams.

All the relevant layers are contained in a single framework, allowing safe and efficient data sharing between commercial entities, governments, data aggregators and technology providers.

“The data standard is suitable to support the full range of end-to-end supply chain users, including freight customers, logistics managers, transport operators, data aggregators, telematics services providers, road managers, governments and government agencies,” says Williams.

“Commonality of language is key to driving the traceability agenda forward. It’s one data standard, bringing them all together.”

The data standard is designed to capture information in a uniform way, that can be applied to a wide range of benefits, including the collection of statistics for government purposes, enhancing the visibility of freight, facilitating decisions relating to access to routes by heavy vehicles, compliance with legislation, and planning by industry and governments.

“It’s not only about improving overall freight industry efficiency and productivity; for the government, the data standard can provide timelier strategic-level information to help inform planning and investment, and more efficient decision-making,” says Williams.