BDI
Basic Data Infrastructure (BDI) focuses on enhancing the efficiency of data sharing in logistics and agrifoods, with an added emphasis on interconnected supply chains. BDI has a set of comprehensive agreements for data, balancing control and efficiency to facilitate smooth operations among stakeholders.
The puzzle
Challenge and Context
Information gaps—such as inaccessible data and cumbersome transfer protocols—frequently disrupt coordination across the operations and supply chain domain. To optimise these networks, a seamless, frictionless flow of information is essential. The core challenge lies in driving efficiency by replacing traditional bottlenecks with automated, secure data exchanges.
Solution
BDI introduces standardised data-sharing principles to build digital trust, automate processing, and streamline supply chain operations. It focuses on six core use cases: Pharma Data Corridor, Verifiability in Agrifood Transparency, Digital Distribution Delivery Profile, Building Site Delivery Profile, The Secure Chain Container, and Trusted Goods Delivery.
How it works
For the pharmacorridor use case, the BDI Framework comprises a stack of components with semantic, technical, and governance blocks. Individual organisations throughout the supply chain of pharmaceutical goods can provide peer-to-peer access on shipment details. After being onboarded to the iSHARE framework, organisations can easily check and verify who has access to which information, allowing each party to decide to whom what information gets shared. This Trusted Network of Networks approach is based on webhook-based event subscriptions. Instead of repeatedly querying an API to check whether something has changed, a party subscribes to specific events—for example, a shipment being dispatched, a cargo status changing, or a delivery being completed. When such an event occurs, the system automatically sends an event notification to the subscriber’s registered webhook endpoint.
The technical requirements for these webhook subscriptions are derived from the DCSA Track & Trace standards, providing an established framework for how event subscriptions, notifications, and API interactions should function. The event schemas, however, are derived from existing IATA messaging standards, ensuring that the information contained in each event is structured according to concepts already familiar to the aviation and air-cargo sector.
Added Value Through the iSHARE Trust Framework
BDI leverages the iSHARE Trust Framework as a potential foundational layer and cornerstone in fortifying trust within its associations. The BDI Trust Framework promotes the iSHARE Trust Framework and seeks interoperability with other data space initiatives (DSGO, DMI). Through this, BDI achieves robust identity and access control over its data resources. Seamlessly integrating the iSHARE Trust Framework into digital infrastructure of BDI Associations ensures the integrity and security of data exchanges within the operations and supply chain domain. This integration enhances transparency and accountability, instilling confidence among stakeholders.