23 February 2026 – Port operators, terminal equipment manufacturers and digital solution providers involved in cargo handling and the wider supply chain logistics are being encouraged to embrace a new approach to data and information sharing designed to boost efficiency and interoperability, and reduce risk and costs, as set out in an international standard being published this week.
Every day, millions of containers containing key goods in the supply chain, from medicines to industrial materials, electronics, clothing and food, move between the world’s ports. For decades, standardisation has played a key role in enabling seamless trade, with ISO 668, first published in 1968, setting specifications for Series 1 freight containers, including their dimensions, openings, and weight limits. As a result, containers are stackable and transferable.
Other standards play similarly key roles, helping to reduce waste and avoid chaos, for example, ISO 23412, which defines the operation of indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services, and applies to land transport of chilled or frozen parcels.
Ensuring clear communication of information for each cargo load to the port is critical, especially as ports become more reliant on automation. Those bringing in a shipment need a clear way to communicate with the unloading and freight forwarding entities, all of which is happening against an increasingly complex and global supply chain.
At present, interoperability is limited by different semantic models – essentially, ways the information is recorded and shared. To address this, BSI is publishing PAS 4000, a standard sponsored by the international non-profit association Terminal Industry Committee 4.0 (TIC 4.0), which includes among its members Terminal Operators, equipment manufacturers and digital solution providers.
The standard aims to ensure that any process and data related to operational activity taking place in a Port or logistics hub is expressed in a consistent, unambiguous and appropriate way, irrespective of the type of technology used. By establishing common reference points for the comparison, translation and harmonisation of language, this can make data machine-readable and support interoperability between fully and semi-automated systems.
The model can be applied across a wide range of operational areas, including terminal processes, operational information and machinery and equipment generated information (e.g. sensors, software, condition, etc.).
Publication alone will not move the dial, as true interoperability will require widespread industry adoption. If that occurs, this common information structure can increase process visibility and reduce information silos across ports and terminals, enabling faster adoption and greater digital maturity, as well as cost reductions, when adopting emerging technologies.
Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors, BSI said: “Standardization has long played an important role in global supply chains, ensuring smoother logistics and seamless movement of vital goods around the world. As operations are increasingly digitized, we have the opportunity to further enhance efficiency with a common information structure that can reduce information silos across ports and terminals. I hope the global industry will get behind this specification to boost interoperability and, as a result, potentially lower supply chain costs in the long term.”
Boris Wenzel, President, the Terminal Industry Committee 4.0 said, “The publication of this specification by BSI marks a decisive milestone for the cargo handling industry. For the first time, we have an internationally recognised and structured framework that consolidates a common digital language, shared definitions and interoperable foundations for logistics operations.
This achievement validates years of collaborative effort and strengthens our position as a global reference in digital standardisation for port-logistics operations, while providing terminal operators, equipment manufacturers and digital technology providers with a practical and harmonised pathway to accelerate digital transformation across port and inland cargo handling facilities.”
PAS 4000 covers cargo handling facilities and their related software and hardware governing processes and operations. This includes hinterland operations and other logistics facilities such as dry ports and warehouses. It defines a set of elements of semantic language that can be used to cover time and temporal data (for example whether a ship has its lights on).
It covers the elements of header, subject, concept, observed property, measurement essentials, and payload that, when combined, create a unique sentence which gives the payload a unique meaning. That meaning can then be transmitted using any messaging protocols.
BSI, established 125 years ago this year, has been undertaking work to simplify supply chains and support seamless global trade ever since. While cargo arrival at ports is only one link in the chain, it can open companies up to a number of risks, from loss to theft or tampering. Equally, speedy processing is vital in our ‘just in time’ system, particularly for perishable goods.
BSI offers a number of services to support supply chain management, including Internal and Supplier Audit, and MESH, an intelligence-led framework designed to help organizations proactively manage supply chain risk and resilience.
The standard’s technical authors were Francisco Blanquer Jaraiz and Jorge Melero Corell, while the following organizations were part of the Steering Group:
• Bremenports GmbH & Co. KG
• Eurogate Technical Services GmbH
• Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA)
• Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL)
• Kaleris
• Kuenze GmbH
• Lloyd's Register
• Port Equipment Manufacturing Association (PEMA)
• RBS EMEA
• TIC4.0
Acknowledgement is also given to the members of a wider review panel who were consulted in the development of this PAS.
For further information, visit https://knowledge.bsigroup.com/products/cargo-handling-facilities-digitalization-of-logistic-operations-specification
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