The TradeTech Paradox Connectivity Amid Fragmentation 2026

These AI tools, used by different actors across layers, work in tandem: –Multi-tier supplier visibility provides the granular evidence governments and enterprises need. –GSCIP elevates these insights to the national level, where macro analysis guides policy and preparedness. –Collaboration on a single operating platform reduces friction and time-to-insight on key cross- government policy design and implementation. AI unlocks a shared, high-fidelity understanding of supply networks, enabling governments and businesses to jointly mitigate vulnerabilities, reduce interruption risk and proactively align facilitation with compliance. Micro feeds macro and macro guides micro, creating a feedback loop that strengthens resilience, improves compliance, and builds trust across the tradetech stack.Collaboration for collective visibility and coordination As visibility deepens within firms and scales to national insight, the next frontier is shared visibility across many actors at once. This means moving from company-specific or government-specific maps to data-sharing with clear guardrails, sharing only the necessary information to coordinate while preserving control, privacy and commercial sensitivity. When ports, carriers, shippers and authorities can see the same key signals in near real time, they can act earlier and collectively to rebook, reroute or resolve bottlenecks. They can also measure emissions more accurately and build trust in compliance. This exemplifies the connecting fabric: common data, neutral governance and interoperable tools that turn individual visibility into collective good for resilience, efficiency and lower environmental impact. The Virtual Watch Tower BOX 8 The Virtual Watch Tower (VWT) is a shipper-led network that helps actors across the enterprise, enabler and governance layers to see the same situation in real time and coordinate faster when disruption hits, without handing all their data to a single central platform. How it works: –Share what’s needed: VWT’s federated architecture (VWTNet) and distributed ledger enable participants to exchange essential shipment data in standardized, traceable and auditable formats while maintaining their own systems and control over information. Built on TWIN – an open, public-good infrastructure (see Box 16) – the network’s neutral, two-tier governance safeguards data rights and avoids vendor lock-in. –Augmented by technology: IoT on cargo provides a reliable basis for early warnings and proactive responses. AI-powered apps can transform those signals into alerts and recommended actions at both the individual and collective levels. What it can do: –Disruption management: The VWT can identify problems such as bad weather, port congestion, or a missed connection earlier and alert everyone involved, ensuring they see the same issue at the same time. Enablers can rebook space on another vessel, reroute via a different port, or reschedule trucks or rail. Acting quickly and together reduces dwell time (i.e. the time containers sit idle) and prevents delays from cascading along the route, resulting in more reliable arrivals, lower costs and reduced emissions. –Carbon data sharing: Sensors on ships, trucks, trains and containers record where a shipment is, when it moved and how it was handled. Sharing a small set of these time- stamped signals in a tamper-evident, traceable manner allows everyone to calculate how much CO2 each segment of the journey (sea, road, rail or air) uses, using the same facts. Enterprises can then confidently report emissions to customers and regulators, compare routes and carriers, and target the most significant opportunities to cut their footprint. VWT’s strength lies in its ability to bring together shippers, ports, carriers, technology providers and applied researchers to turn minimal shared data into collective action. By preserving data control and focusing on interoperability and neutral governance, VWT shifts responses from fragmented to coordinated and provides a model that can scale across corridors and jurisdictions, essential in a time of geopolitical fragmentation. Transport data sharing ecosystem layer Transport analysis layer Transport progress layer Transport planning layer1234 Ecosystem for shared visibility Data provider Evente2e shipment itineraryData consumer Data sharing pool Predicted occurrence Actual occurrence Planned occurrence When ports, carriers, shippers and authorities can see the same key signals in near real time, they can act earlier and collectively to rebook, reroute or resolve bottlenecks. The TradeTech Paradox: Connectivity Amid Fragmentation 20 The TradeTech Paradox: Connectivity Amid Fragmentation