IANA, BIC Collaborate on Geofencing

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) and the Bureau International des Containers (BIC) on Aug. 31 reported extending their collaboration on container facility identification to include geofencing.

According to the organizations, which partnered in 2021, IANA will handle collecting and reviewing geofence coordinates for North American intermodal facilities for inclusion in the global BIC Facility Code database and in the IANA Intermodal Facilities Directory.

The BIC Facility Code database is a global database of more than 17,000 container facilities; it provides the facility name and address, latitude/longitude point and harmonized facility code.

“As part of the 2021 harmonization exercise, the locations in IANA’s North American Intermodal Facility database were assigned a global BIC Facility Code, and an API synchronization was put in place,” IANA and BIC reported. “The database is being expanded to include geofences coordinates to help support the industry’s adoption of smart containers. The methodology and recommendations for the project were developed by a global working group assembled by the United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and includes ocean carriers, IoT providers, and software platforms.”

According to the partners, the objective is “to provide a neutral open library of geofences linked to container handling facilities to ensure that all parties in the supply chain can reference the same geofence for a facility regardless of the provider or platform they may be using, thus improving reliability, interoperability as well as safety and security.”

IANA’s roster of corporate members includes railroads, ocean carriers, ports, intermodal truckers and over-the-road highway carriers, intermodal marketing and logistic companies, and suppliers to the industry. According to the organization, it “consistently supports the shared needs, interests, and goals of its diverse members—regardless of mode or function—with business solutions, education, and networking opportunities.

Founded under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce in 1933 as a neutral, non-profit, international organization, the BIC has more 2,600 container owning and operating members in more than 125 countries. According to BIC, it “seeks to promote efficiency, safety, security, standardization, and sustainability in the container supply chain.”