Speakers
Description
The integration of critical logistics components—ports, customs clearance, digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), and the European Product Passport (EPP)—is essential to enhancing logistics performance while addressing sustainability challenges within a circular economy framework. This extended abstract examines how these interconnected elements can improve efficiency, transparency, and sustainability in international trade, offering new pathways to competitive and sustainable supply chain systems.
AI emerges as a transformative force in the effective implementation of the EPP. By analyzing vast and complex datasets, AI facilitates the assessment of product sustainability, predicts potential compliance risks, and optimizes decision-making across the supply chain. In this context, the EPP serves as a digital tool providing essential transparency by detailing the environmental and social impact of products. AI further amplifies its utility by automating data validation processes, identifying inconsistencies, and generating actionable insights for businesses and regulatory authorities. Together, AI and the EPP contribute to a more transparent and sustainable logistics ecosystem.
Ports and customs clearance remain vital nodes in international trade, acting as gateways for goods movement across borders. Digital technologies, including IoT, blockchain, and electronic consignment notes (e-CMR), enable streamlined operations and real-time visibility, significantly reducing delays and administrative costs. Integrating these advancements into customs processes is critical to achieving seamless supply chain management. For instance, the Customs Single Window system already enhances data exchange among stakeholders, and AI has the potential to further revolutionize customs procedures by introducing predictive analytics and real-time compliance monitoring.
The Future Role of Customs
In the future, customs authorities could play a central role in driving sustainability within logistics. Leveraging AI and the EPP, customs could evolve into proactive enablers of circular economy practices. By incorporating AI-powered analytics, customs authorities could:
Sustainability Verification: Use EPP data to assess the environmental and social compliance of products at the border, ensuring adherence to global sustainability standards.
Risk Management: Implement predictive algorithms to identify high-risk shipments that may violate trade or environmental regulations, enabling targeted inspections.
Green Incentives: Collaborate with governments to offer expedited clearance for sustainably certified products, promoting the adoption of eco-friendly practices.
Data Hubs for Circular Economy: Serve as data hubs, aggregating and sharing sustainability metrics from the EPP with other stakeholders in the supply chain to foster transparency and circularity.
Implications and Recommendations
This study highlights how the integration of AI, digitalization, and the EPP with traditional logistics operations can transform international trade into a more sustainable and efficient system. The adoption of these technologies not only reduces environmental impacts but also aligns with circular economy principles by minimizing waste, optimizing resource use, and promoting transparency.
To achieve these goals, stakeholders must focus on harmonized policy frameworks, investment in digital infrastructure, and capacity building for AI adoption. Policymakers should prioritize integrating sustainability metrics into customs and port operations while incentivizing the use of technologies like the EPP. Logistics practitioners and businesses are encouraged to adopt AI-driven tools to enhance supply chain visibility and efficiency.
This research underscores the need for a coordinated and future-oriented approach to logistics that embraces innovation and sustainability. By combining the strengths of AI, digitalization, and the EPP, customs and logistics systems can drive significant advancements in achieving global sustainability objectives and fostering resilient trade networks.
References
European data,(2024) EU’s Digital Product Passport: Advancing transparency and sustainability, https://data.europa.eu/en/news-events/news/eus-digital-product-passport-advancing-transparency-and-sustainability
European Commission. (2021). European Product Passport. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european-product-passport_en.
European Commission. (2021). Customs Single Window. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/customs-procedures/general-information/electronic-customs-customs-single-window_en.
European Commission. (2021). E-CMR - Electronic consignment note. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/events/2021-03-31-e-cmr-electronic-consignment-note_en.
European Commission. (2021). EU Digital Transport and Logistics Forum. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/logistics-and-multimodality/digital-logistics-and-e-commerce/eu-digital-transport-and-logistics-forum_en.
Frick, J., Steger-Jensen, K. (2024). Enhancing Logistics Performance: Integrating Ports, Custom Clearance, Digitalization, and European Product Passport. In: Thürer, M., Riedel, R., von Cieminski, G., Romero, D. (eds) Advances in Production Management Systems. Production Management Systems for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous Environments. APMS 2024. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 728. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71622-5_22
Ivanov, D., Dolgui, A., Sokolov, B., & Werner, F. (2019). Challenges and opportunities of digital transformation: A supply chain perspective. Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, Pilsen, Czech Republic, July 23-26, 2019.
KPMG. (2019). Global Trade Management: From Chaos to Control. Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2019/01/global-trade-management-from-chaos-to-control.pdf.
Lee, H. L. (2004). The triple-A supply chain. Harvard Business Review, 82(10), 102-113.
World Economic Forum. (2018). The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Future_of_Last-Mile_Ecosystem.pdf.
Hilmola, O. P., & Szekely, B. (2019). The impact of digitalization on supply chain visibility, control tower activities, and cost efficiency. Sustainability, 11(3), 695. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030695
Katsifou, A., Psaraftis, H. N., & Kontovas, C. A. (2020). The impact of digitalization on supply chains: A review and future opportunities. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 136, 101817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.101817
Paixão, A. C., & Marques, R. C. (2020). The impact of digitalization on the environmental performance of supply chains: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 261, 121228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121228
Wang, J., & Tan, K. H. (2019). The role of information technology in supply chain management: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Production Economics, 205, 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.09.016
OECD (2021). Customs in the digital age. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/tax/customs-in-the-digital-age-9789264289931-en.htm.
ITF (2018). Digitalisation and the future of international trade and logistics. Retrieved from https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/digitalisation-trade-logistics.pdf.
Bernon, M., Despeisse, M., & Sánchez Behar, V. (2020). The potential of product passports to improve circularity indicators in the electronics sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, 272, 122877.
Cerutti, A. K., & de Oliveira, E. M. (2021). Environmental Product Passport: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 306, 127363.
Eltayeb, T. K. (2020). The effect of blockchain technology on international trade and logistics. Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 17, e2019134.
Ferrari, E., & Tei, A. (2020). Digitalization in maritime logistics: A systematic review and future research directions. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 138, 101983.
Iakovou, E., & Tsanakas, P. (2020). The Impact of the European Product Passport on the Environmental Sustainability of Supply Chains. In Sustainable Operations and Computing (pp. 57-79). Springer.
World Customs Organization (2021). SAFE Framework of Standards. Retrieved from https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/facilitation/instrument-and-tools/tools/safe-framework-of-standards.aspx.
