DigiLog 3- digitalization and resilience of logistics

Events

Triple transition might be the new magic word of R&D actions in logistics. We convened again 20.11.2024 at Botta in Helsinki, where a big group of Finnish and international guests gathered to hear interesting presentations, demos and discussions regarding the interesting new approach to developing supply chains. With triple transition we mean resilience, digitalisation and sustainability of logistics. In DigiLog 3 event special focus was given for the first two of these terms, but without forgetting sustainability and CO₂ emission reporting requirements.

The event was organised by Traficom and the EU CINEA/CEF funded eFTI4EU project, CaaS Nordic association and ITS Finland, in collaboration with LIMOWA. The event was moderated by Lasse Nykänen (Vediafi) and the basic agenda followed the already traditional DigiLog schema, where the event is always opened with host association welcoming words, then few keynotes describe a thematic frame for the day’s presentation. After the keynotes, authorities introduce their current actions and achievements, which is followed by industry presentations and then the official part is summarized during the panel discussion. And as a tradition the whole event is closed during the cocktails where participants can continue discussions and set up future collaboration plans.

Although the DigiLog seminar follows a traditional formula, there is always room for something new and this year association members had an opportunity to present their demos regarding digital solutions for logistics. The demo session was organised during the welcome coffee and coffee break at the back side of the seminar room. This year GoSwift, iToDEV, Digilogistika keskus and Vediafi introduced their solutions, which all were related also to eFTI development. In addition to the demos, LIMOWA had their flag waving there in the LIMOWA corner. The demo session was so interesting and a nice add on to the presentations, so we might organise this also in upcoming DigiLog events and make it even a bit bigger.

Below very short summary about presentations, but from here you can find presentations and see the full show again: https://its-finland.fi/event/digilog-3/

This year keynotes speeches were given by Sarah Schiffling from Hanken and Markus Happonen from National Cyber Security Centre (Traficom). These presentations focused on resilience of logistics, where actors are bouncing between the normal and unnormal. Both keynotes highlighted that typically supply chains are multistakeholder processes, where several actors are connected and forced to do collaboration, but which also makes supply chains vulnerable and sensitive to disturbances. Thus, all supply chain and logistics actors should integrate risk mitigation and preparedness processes for their daily routines. Markus Happonen highlighted that this is especially vital for digital solutions, since there is so much digital interference ongoing and the role of digital tools is so vital for most of the supply chain processes.

After the keynotes, it was time to hear authority presentations. First Teemu Heikura from Fintraffic explained what is the current status of eFTI development, where also history was made in November, when eFTI4EU project’s reference implementation eFTI Gate, Finnish and France eFTI Gates were integrated during the project’s testfest in Estonia. Teemu also introduced how eFTI can enable new opportunities for economic operators. After Teemu’s presentation Ollipekka Mäkitalo from Finnish Customs their new approach and real interest for PPP collaboration.

The authority session ended with a presentation by Ilona Torniainen from Finnish Defence Forces about NATO logistics. All three authority presentations highlighted the relevance of public private collaboration, resilience and preparedness for the future demands.

During the coffee break participants had the opportunity to chat with the colleagues and get to know the demos. And as normal, the discussions were so active and intense, the moderator had a challenge to get people back to the room. Note to next year coffee breaks can be even longer.

The industry outlook covered presentations from large and small logistics companies, since Samuli Toivonen introduced Kaukokiito’s digitalisation actions and status and first time ever in DigiLog history we had opportunity to hear delightful presentation given by sisters Satu Orava and Suvi Widgren about interesting collaboration between Rekka Group and Telia, where small techpilot has been scaled up with significant results. In addition, we heard interesting presentations on how vessel movements can be tracked and how huge benefits it can offer, when Jussi Poikonen from Awake.Ai introduced their services. After maritime insights Simonas Niedvaras from iToDEV introduced their eCMR solutions and how it can be integrated to boost CO2 calculations. The last industry presentation was given by Tomi Dahlberg from DBE Core and Tomi explained what is the status of PEPPOL development and what kind of cost savings digitalisation of business processes can offer.

The DigiLog 3 event was summarised during the panel discussions, where Matti Lankinen (Vediafi) moderated panel sessions where Sarah Schiffling (Hanken), Jan Bergstrand (Trafikverket), Heiti Mering (Digilogistika Keskus / eFTI EXPERTS), Rugile Andziukeviciute (TIA), Janne Huhtamäki (Traficom) and Satu Orava (Telia) discussed about the actions that their organisations have done and are about to do to meet resilience requirements. Panellists also gave their insights how they see the current state of digitalisation of logistics and what should be done next.

“We believe in strong co-operation and sharing best practices between authorities, companies and other stakeholders to get the greatest benefits from digitalization in a resilient way.”
Janne Huhtamäki (Traficom)

As a summary from the 2024 DigiLog event we can state that we have definitely moved beyond the powerpoints and a lot of concrete actions have been taken and a lot is happening. All the stakeholder hints are that now it is time to be active, follow what is happening around and please participate on collaboration platforms that the public sector is now offering for the industry. There are many ways for collaboration as was presented during the presentation. Below are few examples:

Fintraffic: