SCDx must work across imports, exports, and province-to-province trade. The initial examples represent all three flows using synthetic organizations and locations. They are validation cases, not claims about a participating corridor or a completed government integration.
Import
An illustrative import path moves goods from a foreign supplier by ship to a Canadian port, then by rail and truck to a warehouse and buyer. Information follows the goods through arrival, terminal transfer, inland movement, receiving, and any applicable regulatory process.
The information chain should preserve shipment and equipment references when a terminal, rail operator, truck carrier, or warehouse reports an event. Customs release, carrier release, terminal availability, and permission to collect cargo have separate issuers and meanings. A logistics event must not imply that every required clearance has been obtained.
The synthetic import example exercises multiple modes and handoff locations. It does not contain a real declaration or an official cargo-release decision.
Export
An illustrative export path moves goods from a Canadian producer by truck or rail through a warehouse or terminal to a port, then by ship to a foreign receiver. Relevant information can include booking references, packing, dispatch, arrival at the terminal, loading, export filing references, and commodity certificates where required.
Each responsible organization should report the facts it can substantiate. A planned departure differs from actual loading; an export declaration reference differs from proof of export. Cross-border acceptance requires the receiving party's supported format and legal arrangements.
The synthetic export example tests the common data foundation. It does not assert compliance with a commodity program or a foreign jurisdiction.
Interprovincial trade
An illustrative domestic path moves goods from a supplier in one province by truck or rail through a warehouse or transfer terminal to a receiver in another province. Order, dispatch, custody, receipt, and invoice references can use the same foundation as the international journeys.
Domestic movement should not inherit mandatory border fields solely because the network also supports imports and exports. Requirements depend on the goods, activity, mode, and jurisdictions involved. The prototype's interprovincial classification is a data label; it does not evaluate the law or determine which permits apply.
Handoffs that need validation
| Handoff | Evidence the design must preserve |
|---|---|
| Ship to port or terminal | Vessel or shipment context, actual event time, reporting operator, and equipment references. |
| Terminal to rail or truck | The goods or equipment transferred, receiving operator, and the distinction between availability and collection. |
| Transport to warehouse | Arrival and receipt, quantities or discrepancies in a later goods profile, and responsibility for correction. |
| Warehouse to receiving party | Dispatch, delivery, business acceptance, and the references joining them. |
Ports, terminals, and warehouses are network nodes; ship, rail, and truck are modes. A movement can change operator without changing mode, and storage can interrupt movement without ending the business journey.
Validation cases beyond the happy path
Test a split shipment, a consolidated load, a missing document, a conflicting event, a repeat message, a correction, and an unavailable endpoint. Record who owns each exception and what evidence resolves it. Before claiming efficiency gains, measure the existing fax, email, PDF, portal, EDI, and manual-entry steps in the actual selected journeys.
See the core profile for implemented structural rules and the roadmap for wider operational validation.
Copyright © 2026 Stephen Makonin.