No single standard covers every commercial transaction, cargo movement, border submission, traceability event, and legal document. SCDx should use a common semantic foundation and a versioned profile for each exchange. This draft identifies relevant standards; it does not implement complete transformations or claim certified conformance to them.
Primary source references below were checked on 26 October 2026. An implementation must record the exact release and partner profile it supports. The newest published release may differ from the release accepted by a receiving system.
Standards by purpose
| Purpose | International foundation | Proposed SCDx use |
|---|---|---|
| Single Window design | UN/CEFACT Recommendations 33, 34, 35, and 36 | Guide programme design, data simplification, the legal environment, and interoperability. These are recommendations rather than a message transport protocol. |
| Shared trade meaning | UN/CEFACT Buy-Ship-Pay and Multimodal Transport reference data models | Anchor concepts for parties, goods, consignments, transport, and documents. Select the fields required for each journey. |
| Border requirements | WCO Data Model | Map the regulatory subset and preserve the precise submission profile accepted by the relevant agency. |
| Visibility and traceability | GS1 EPCIS 2.0 and Core Business Vocabulary 2.0 | Represent relevant shipping, receiving, aggregation, and sensor events. These do not replace order or declaration models. |
| Identifiers | UN/LOCODE and appropriate GS1 schemes | Reuse recognized location, product, party, and logistics-unit identifiers while retaining partner identifiers and mappings. |
| Ocean container operations | DCSA standards | Connect applicable booking, transport-document, and tracking exchanges with supported carrier interfaces. |
| Rail, road, and warehouse operations | UN/CEFACT transport concepts, relevant event standards, and partner EDI profiles | Preserve operator-specific meanings and validate actual handoffs; there is no implemented universal rail or truck adapter in this release. |
| Document inventory | ICC DSI Key Trade Documents and Data Elements | Locate reusable data and existing standards across its 36-document framework. This inventory is not a new universal document format. |
Mapping rules
A mapping specification should name the source field, target concept, identifier scheme, unit, cardinality, code-list version, transformation, and any loss of meaning. It should include examples that distinguish planned and actual events and separate different meanings of release.
Receiving an SCDx profile does not establish support for every field in a WCO, DCSA, or GS1 message. Do not label the current synthetic examples as EPCIS documents, customs declarations, or electronic bills of lading. The implemented core profile is an SCDx draft contract.
Preserve working EDI through explicit adapters. If air cargo is added, IATA ONE Record provides a relevant data, API, and security framework. Air cargo is not included in the current ship, rail, and truck examples.
Primary references
- UNECE UN/CEFACT: Recommendation 33, Recommendation 34, Recommendation 35, and Recommendation 36.
- UNECE UN/CEFACT: reference models and main standards, Buy-Ship-Pay derived vocabulary, and standards including UN/EDIFACT.
- World Customs Organization: WCO Data Model.
- GS1: EPCIS and CBV 2.0 normative artefacts and system architecture and identifiers.
- UNECE: UN/LOCODE.
- Digital Container Shipping Association: standards and shipment journey reference.
- International Chamber of Commerce: Key Trade Documents and Data Elements framework and interactive glossary.
- International Air Transport Association: ONE Record.
Copyright © 2026 Stephen Makonin.