CargoConnect OCTOBER26_For DIGITAL EDITION - Flipbook - Page 46
FEATURE Interoperability
He also stresses that liability should be addressed
contractually before implementation, with standardised
frameworks de昀椀ning what data means, what it does
not mean and how disputes are resolved.
Kalra informs Fitsol is working with ecosystem
partners to enable operational data sharing while
protecting commercial confidentiality. “Trust will
be built through governance frameworks, clear data
ownership rules and controlled access mechanisms,”
he says.
For Chatterjee, the required technology already
exists; the missing element is a framework that enables
competitors to collaborate without surrendering commercial advantage. “Supply chain visibility will not emerge
because competitors suddenly become willing to share
data. It will emerge when the ecosystem creates a model
where organisations can share operational truth without
surrendering commercial advantage,” he explains.
Creating a Uni昀椀ed Digital Logistics
Ecosystem
AI-driven logistics is advancing from
reactive monitoring toward predictive,
prescriptive action, identifying
disruptions early and recommending
responses before impacts emerge.
disruptions but recommends the optimal response before
customers experience any impact,” he says.
Balancing Visibility, Competition
and Commercial Con昀椀dentiality
Greater connectivity also requires a workable framework
for protecting commercial interests. Neutral, rule-based
collaboration and permission-based access can allow
stakeholders to exchange operational data without
exposing sensitive commercial information.
Rai argues that “Trust and commercial viability
deadlock can’t be solved by asking competitors to trust
each other. Rather it is solved by designing a system
where they never have to share data with competitors.”
His proposed federated visibility model allows a neutral
platform to hold data under de昀椀ned access policies,
with each stakeholder seeing only the information
relevant to its role.
46 | CARGOCONNECT OCTOBER 2026
The response to fragmentation is increasingly moving
away from replacing individual systems towards connecting them through standardised APIs, network-based
data models and distributed technologies. Point-to-point
integrations are increasingly giving way to cloud-based
and open-source approaches.
The Digital Container Shipping Association, for
example, provides vendor-neutral OpenAPIs for critical
shipping processes, allowing shippers and freight
forwarders to access track-and-trace and booking
information from multiple carriers without manual
rekeying.
Rai advocates a pragmatic approach, “Standardise
the output layer, not the input layer.” Rather than
requiring every platform to adopt the same source-level
architecture, intelligent translation layers can ingest
di昀昀erent formats and normalise them into a common
schema. “The vendors who will win the next decade
are the ones who make it easy for their data to 昀氀ow
out, not just in,” he says.
Kalra believes organisations should focus on connecting systems rather than replacing them. Fitsol is
building an ecosystem spanning sustainability SaaS,
transportation management, packaging optimisation,
asset tracking and circularity management, alongside
a marketplace for packaging and circular-economy
services. “Our vision is to create a connected ecosystem
where sustainability, logistics, packaging and visibility
converge to deliver end-to-end value,” he asserts.
Chatterjee similarly argues that the industry must
move beyond organisation-level optimisation. “Achieving
true end-to-end data sharing requires a shift from
system integration to ecosystem integration,” he states.
True interoperability, therefore, depends not on
another standalone platform but on common standards, shared governance and mutually beneficial
data-sharing rules. The ability to exchange trusted
data securely and consistently will determine whether
India’s growing digital logistics infrastructure can
evolve into an operationally sustainable, end-to-end
connected ecosystem.
