More companies start investing in SCR API integration.
T-Mining spoke with Bart Scheuweghs, a Senior Integration Architect at Integration. Team about his experience with the Secure Container Release API.
Bart Scheurweghs has been a believer from the start of Secure Container Release (SCR). "With the SCR API, forwarders and carriers can take a giant leap forward in the field of digitization. SCR is about more than just safety; I see many opportunities for automation and efficiency improvements."
If you compare the SCR web application with previous ways of working, the difference is minimal. For example, as a forwarder, you typically receive a container release from the shipping company and then pass this on to your carrier who will carry the order out for you. However, the companies adjustment is minimal yet innovative and brilliant. The work is done entirely pin code-free, which is an important step forward in terms of safety.
As an IT professional, I typically find web applications boring and a manual process. An API (Application Programming Interface) makes it possible to work fully automatically. This means that you can fully integrate your release process with existing software systems with the SCR API by resulting in a significant profit for many companies to work faster, more efficiently, and safely. And thus, an overall opportunity to reduce their costs.
Given recent acceleration regarding safety in Antwerp's port and the sense of urgency for pin code-free release processes, I have noticed more companies and software suppliers making concrete plans to take on this automation step and begin integration projects surrounding SCR API. Van Moer is a good example who tends to switch quickly as a frontrunner. For them, innovation means investing. Because don't forget: such an SCR API integration is not without costs!
It's a 'which came first? chicken or egg story', of course. Today, you have a limited number of containers in Antwerp that you can release without using a pin code. However, only Secure Container Release is currently in production. But the number of companies connected to SCR is increasing rapidly (ed. more than 300 companies are already connected to SCR) as is the number of pin code-free containers.
MSC Belgium joined Secure Container Release in early 2020. However, other shipping companies have to make their choice. With these types of solutions, the community must decide based on network effects. We must also bring in smaller companies on board who have less of an ICT power but are an essential link in getting the entire chain on board. The threshold to participate should not be too high.
Speaking of innovation, SCR is based on complex blockchain technology that has an added value for the problems surrounding pin codes. In terms of technology, this solution is undoubtedly future-proof. However, nothing of this stature and complexity is noticeable for the end-user. The SCR API also works similar to the classic REST API.
However, there are undoubtedly significant differences with traditional cloud-based applications. The identity wallet would be an excellent example of this - as we are used to creating an account online quickly. With SCR, you must install an identity wallet locally that manages the company's identity. At first, I was sceptical about this process as it adds complexity. For example, the identity wallet makes identity fraud more challenging and offers new safety and privacy possibilities. In this way, the Judicial Police can gain insight into specific containers via their identity wallet as it will no longer be necessary to share all data. As there is no central database, even T-Mining cannot access this information which is very different from classic cloud-based applications. Each new party who participates in the network, by hosting a node, makes the application more decentralized and highly secure.
In development terms, T-Mining has been busy the past year. Compared to a year ago, much more functionality has been added with new releases and updates regularly. That is much more preferable compared to big releases every so often. One of the things currently on the roadmap is an automatic link of the active directory, for Azure, which will create a fully automated maintenance of user data in the SCR application - an important feature that is currently missing. Communication with the T-Mining team runs smoothly, and input is regularly noted. It took them a bit to notice that Antwerp's ports run on Windows and that their Linux programmers could also provide Windows hosting (laughs). If something goes wrong, T-Mining is honest and transparent about it. Their support is good, and their entire organization is exceptionally customer-oriented. They are a small team, but they are quite ambitious.