The growth of international trade and the complexity of production chains are creating new demands for speed, transparency, and reliability in freight transportation. Traditional supply management approaches that rely on paper-based workflows and fragmented information exchange are increasingly proving to be ineffective. In response to these challenges, digital transformation in the transport sector is actively occurring across the Eurasian region. The implementation of advanced technologies is turning physical transport networks into intelligent ecosystems, which lays the groundwork for a new generation of logistics services. These developments are particularly important for countries with significant transit potential, as the efficiency of logistics directly impacts the competitiveness of their national economies.
From Transport Corridors to Digital Transport Corridors: a New Logistics Philosophy
The traditional transport corridor primarily consists of physical infrastructure, including a network of roads, railways, ports, and terminals. Its effectiveness is measured by the capacity and condition of these facilities. In contrast, the concept of digital corridors shifts the focus from physical assets to the information flows that accompany them. Rather than being merely a route, a digital corridor represents an integrated digital environment where every participant in the supply chain - ranging from shippers to customs authorities - can access real-time, up-to-date, and reliable information. This digital environment fosters the development of digital counterparts for cargo flows, enabling the modeling and optimization of logistics operations prior to their actual execution.
The Technological Triad: How It Works in Practice
Digital corridors leverage the synergy of three key technologies. Each technology addresses its own specific task, but together they create a unified, efficient system.
The Internet of Things (IoT): The Physical World in Digital Format
The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is emerging as a crucial link between physical cargo and the digital landscape. Miniature autonomous sensors and trackers, which can be mounted on containers, vehicles, or even individual pallets, gather and transmit vast amounts of data.
Big Data and Predictive Analytics: From Data to Solutions
The flow of information from IoT devices, supplemented by data from other sources (customs declarations, weather reports, traffic), generates big data. Processing this amount of information manually is not possible. This is where artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, which form the basis of Big Data in logistics, come to the rescue.
Blockchain For Creating a Trusted Operating Environment
One of the main problems in logistics is the coordination of multiple participants with different interests and accounting systems. Blockchain in supply chains solves this problem by creating a unified and trusted informational space.
Distributed ledger technology records each event (shipment, transfer to the carrier, customs clearance, receipt) in the form of a cryptosecure block. This entry cannot be changed or deleted "retroactively". All authorized participants see the same version of events, which completely eliminates disputes and document fraud.
Results and Benefits – What Does the Business and the Region Get?
The introduction of digital technologies in logistics has a comprehensive positive effect. For businesses, this translates into a direct economic gain. Transparency of supply chains increases, which reduces insurance costs and downtime. Logistics automation reduces the impact of the human factor and operational costs. Plus, companies get access to analytical reports that help identify bottlenecks in supply chains and optimize inventory, reducing the amount of frozen capital.
