What Portbase Teaches Us About Interoperability at Scale
4 Min read | August 4, 2025
In the mission to digitalise global trade, it can be tempting to focus on emerging technologies or solutions in isolation. At DCSA, we believe goals will be achieved not through standalone innovations, but in how different players – public and private, large and small – align around shared objectives.One of the strongest examples of this is Portbase, the port community system of the Netherlands. As the first non-carrier data provider to adopt DCSA standards, Portbase is an exceptional example in how interoperable, federated digital infrastructure can work at scale. It signals how DCSA standards can extend across the shipping ecosystem to connect with other critical nodes in the value chain. It also highlights how port communities, when equipped with shared frameworks and coordinated governance, can become drivers of digital progress.At DCSA Week 2025, Portbase joined the conversation in person, bringing valuable insights into what interoperability looks like when it operates daily at one of the world’s busiest ports.
The value of collective digital infrastructure
Portbase was founded to serve the Dutch port community, with the aim of lowering costs and improving quality across the logistics chain by standardising data exchange between all parties involved in port operations. Today, it supports a network that includes over 1,000 shippers, 1,200 forwarders, 1,400 inland operators, 130 terminals, and 150 shipping lines and agents, as well as a broad range of public authorities and logistics service providers.Notably, Portbase doesn’t centralise control. Instead, it enables federated data sharing, where participants retain control of their own data while exchanging it securely using shared standards. This model supports secure, standards-based communication across a distributed network – a principle that’s also foundational to DCSA’s approach to industry-wide digitalisation.As Marten van der Velde, Director Strategy at Portbase, noted during DCSA Week: “We believe in the growth of federative data sharing. But it’s not just about data. We need to consciously cooperate.”This simple idea of structured collaboration is the throughline linking port communities, shipping lines and other shipping stakeholders around the world. Crucially, the approach is working: Portbase delivers €550 million in added value per year to the Dutch logistics chain, demonstrating how interoperability translates into measurable operational and commercial outcomes.
Shared standards as enablers
Too often, digital transformation is attempted in silos. The result is fragmentation, as illustrated by tools that don’t talk to each other, duplication of effort and an inability to scale.Portbase’s success shows that the opposite is possible. By building its services on agreed processes and open standards, the system can interoperate with a diverse ecosystem of terminals, forwarders, carriers, and customs authorities, without requiring any single party to give up autonomy. This approach mirrors DCSA’s intent: to support coordination without enforcing centralisation.Portbase’s collaboration with DCSA is a key milestone in that journey, proving that shipping lines and port communities are not on separate tracks. They are converging, guided by the same strategic goal: interoperability grounded in standards, enabled by federated infrastructure, and driven by purposeful cooperation.
The road to ecosystem alignment
As logistics digitalisation moves forward, the industry must recognise that digital maturity cannot be achieved by any one party alone. As Portbase has shown, this requires coordination and cooperation, not just individual investment.This is especially important in an environment where digital maturity remains uneven across participants. Without shared frameworks and interoperability, isolated digital systems can’t deliver fully realised benefits. However, when organisations align across sectors and borders, progress accelerates.Ports have a critical role to play in this journey. They are not just adopters of standards but facilitators of alignment across the wider ecosystem. As van der Velde remarked in his closing message at DCSA Week, the task now is collective: “Let’s move to the next scenario in digitalisation. Together.”
Why it matters now
As an industry body, DCSA sees this moment not just as a milestone, but as a model. Portbase demonstrates that it’s possible to design and operate digital infrastructure that reflects the complexity of real-world logistics, while reducing friction, increasing reliability, and preserving trust among stakeholders.For digital and strategy leaders – whether in a carrier, a port authority, or a government agency – the lesson is clear: digital transformation at scale will not come from isolated innovation. It will come from a commitment to engaging interoperable, collaborative infrastructure built on shared standards and aligned incentives.
About Portbase
Portbase is the Port Community System (PCS) of the Netherlands, established by the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam to digitally connect all parties in the port logistics chain. Its mission is to facilitate the secure, efficient, and sustainable flow of goods and data through Dutch ports and their extended corridors. Working in close collaboration with terminals, shipping lines, carriers, and public authorities, Portbase supports the development of smart, integrated port communities. To learn more visit portbase.com