Physical Internet Data Platforms: HOLOGISTICS Paper Published at IPIC 2026

We are pleased to announce the official publication and presentation of the latest research paper from the HOLOGISTICS project: “Roadmap of Logistics Data Platforms for the Physical Internet: A DTLF-Aligned Assessment of Open Standard Data Exchange, Federated Data Spaces, and Governance for Adoption”, presented at the 12th International Physical Internet Conference (IPIC 2026) in Bordeaux, France.

Co-authored by Paulo Cantillano-Lizana, Gloria Giammei, and Matteo Magnani, the study stems from a collaboration between the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), the ICOOR Interuniversity Consortium, and the Physical Internet Center. The research was developed within the framework of the EU-funded project HOLOGISTICS (Horizon Europe, Grant Agreement No. 101202556).

The Background: Digital Logistics and Market Hurdles

The vision of the Physical Internet (PI) aims to establish open, hyperconnected, and fully interoperable logistics networks. While the European policy landscape is progressing rapidly-driven by the eFTI (electronic Freight Transport Information) Regulation, DTLF (Digital Transport and Logistics Forum) initiatives, and the Data Governance Act-real-world digital adoption still faces significant socio-technical friction.

Challenges such as API fragmentation, concerns over sharing commercially sensitive data, unclear legal liability, and digital skill gaps continue to hinder the transition from isolated pilots to large-scale deployment. This paper specifically evaluates whether current European approaches are ready to support the Physical Internet’s “Logistics/Commercial Data Platform”.

Methodology and Key Findings

To conduct the evaluation, the authors proposed a qualitative “Roadmap Fitness” framework to assess two major European technological building blocks from the Hologistics project:

DTLF-Aligned Open Standard Data Exchange: Focused on operational data exchange using eFTI and open standards such as UN/CEFACT and GS1.

Federated Data Space Governance (EMDS/LaaS): Based on International Data Spaces (IDS/IDSA) governance-by-design principles to guarantee data sovereignty and trust.

Evaluated across four qualitative dimensions (Capability Coverage, Interoperability Readiness, Governance Adequacy, and Adoption Viability), the results reveal a strong structural complementarity:

DTLF is strongest for platform functionality: It offers the best baseline for shared semantics, operational data exchange primitives (ETA/ITU status updates), and regulatory compliance.

EMDS/LaaS is strongest for governance: It excels at delivering data sovereignty, trust, auditability, and access control.

The Primary Bottleneck: Adoption Viability

Despite these strengths, Adoption Viability emerged as the weakest dimension for both approaches. The core limitation is not that standards or governance concepts are missing–they largely exist. Instead, the ecosystem lacks a socio-technical “Middle Layer (Translation Layer): a practical suite of tooling, incentives, conformance testing, and onboarding support required to make implementation accessible and safe, especially for SMEs.

The Deployment Checklist and Future Steps

To bridge the gap between theoretical standards and real-world implementation, the paper concludes with an actionable PI-Aligned Deployment Checklist targeting this “middle layer” gap:

Platform Layer: Mitigating API fragmentation through interoperability testing, implementation profiles, and API discoverability registries.

Governance Layer: Implementing usable governance that explicitly clarifies legal liabilities, accountability models, and usage controls without overwhelming smaller actors.

Adoption & Security Layer: Supporting SMEs with dedicated onboarding tools, financial/operational incentives, and embedding Cybersecurity-by-Design (ISO 27001, ISO/IEC 25012) as a mandatory trust prerequisite.

Read the Full Paper

The publication is freely available in Open Access via the following official links:

- Georgia Tech Repository Entry: repository.gatech.edu/entities/publication/9bbaef0e-313c-4c2f-a8db-c2cdb097bf28
- Direct PDF Download (Handle URI): hdl.handle.net/1853/81900
- Official DOI: doi.org/10.35090/gatech/13341
  
  Acknowledgment: This research is supported by the EU-funded project HOLOGISTICS under the Horizon Europe Program (Grant Agreement No. 101202556).