In global container logistics, progress happens through collaboration and experimentation, combined with the courage to try something new before it’s perfect. This is exactly what HMM and Genesis demonstrated in their recent pilot of the DCSA Booking Standard. Rather than a finished story, it’s a project that represents the first chapter of innovation. The end goal? Increased efficiency, accuracy and interoperability. Furthermore, it’s an open invitation to the rest of the container shipping industry: start now, learn fast, and move forward together. From January to August 2025, HMM and Genesis joined forces to test DCSA’s Booking Standard: a pilot project that focused on understanding and connecting motivations, while uncovering and addressing existing operational pitfalls. This is the story of that journey, and why it matters for every carrier, shipper, freight forwarder and technology provider considering their next move. 

The inefficiencies of the status quo  

People in logistics are pragmatic. They care about what works. However, they are also very aware of the industry’s inefficiencies. For Genesis, the motivation in participating in this Booking Standard pilot project was clear: the booking process is their single biggest operational inefficiency. With up to 700 active bookings – which translates to around 2,000 accompanying emails – at any given moment, staying on top of changes is both labour-intensive and risky. Every email could be critical. A single booking may trigger 10–15 updates. Multiply that by hundreds of active shipments, and companies face thousands of emails requiring action. The operational stress is constant. Miss one email, and the potential consequences are significant 
  • warehouse teams waiting for containers that won’t arrive 
  • truckers dispatched unnecessarily 
  • days or weeks of delay due to missed sailings 
  • unnecessary detention and demurrage charges 
HMM, meanwhile, was looking for strategic change. Before the pilot, HMM managed its booking exchanges via a patchwork of EDI messages, website portals, email threads and phone calls, depending on the level of technical maturity of who they were working with. It’s a system that works, but not smoothly and not consistently. There’s definitely room for improvement. One of the most revealing parts of the pilot was that the container shipping sector has reached a tipping point. The current system of Booking procedures is fragile and inefficient – a fact that became even more visible during the pandemic when schedules slipped not by hours but by weeks.  

What is the thinking behind DCSA’s Booking Standard? 

At its core, the Booking Standard introduces two transformative shifts: 
  • APIs instead of batch-based EDI : enabling real-time data exchange instead of waiting minutes or hours for updates. 
  • A harmonised API shared across the ecosystem : meaning stakeholders don’t need to integrate with ten different formats. 
DCSA’s Booking Standard pilot project is a step towards structured, standardised, real-time data exchange. For carriers, structured APIs reduce manual interventions and eliminate errors. For customers, they cut down the inbox traffic and remove the fear of missing a critical update that is buried deep inside a PDF attachment. 

A Collaborative, Iterative Test 

DCSA designed the Booking Standard pilot project to be constructive, safe and iterative. It consisted of HMM and Genesis carrying out a total of fourteen use cases that comprise the entire Booking process. 

What Went Well? 

The pilot project was well-received by HMM and Genesis. Here below is a summary of their feedback. 
  • Good collaborative relationship between HMM, Genesis and DCSA. 
  • No major IT issues (a testament to the clarity of the standard) 
  • Use cases were well-defined and easy to test. 
  • HMM’s simple scenarios of one container, one commodity helped establish a solid baseline. 
  • The conformance suite offered a reliable benchmark for validating implementations. 
One notable early gain: While the pilot project did not aim to quantify ROI, one insight stood out: The IT engineer from Genesis required roughly 50 hours to implement the Booking Standard – and early modelling suggests that it could free up approximately 25% of staff time for higher-value activities. That suggests that the return on effort could be visible within three months.  A word about Conformance Testing: Conformance is the foundation of interoperability, ensuring a standard is fully adopted and validated through shared scenarios so data can flow reliably and without rework. It’s not a ranking, but a transparent record of progress that helps systems – and the entire industry – move forward together. To this end, DCSA’s Conformance Suite played a crucial role. It allowed both HMM and Genesis to test their implementations against standardised scenarios, before exchanging data between their systems. For HMM, it clarified the logic of API interactions. For Genesis, it provided a tangible measure of readiness and confidence before the pilot. 

What didn’t work well? 

  • Time zones: Coordinating Europe, Korea and the U.S. raised some challenges and required some late-night meetings – though issues were quickly resolved. 
  • Server readiness: Genesis needed an AWS server update to enable push notifications – a straightforward fix but a helpful early discovery. 
  • Realism: Genesis’ test bookings were created mostly by IT staff; next time, involving business users would improve realism. 
These friction points are exactly why pilot projects exist: they put the operational realities into the spotlight. 

Why This Pilot Matters for the Entire Industry 

This pilot demonstrated three powerful truths: 

  1. The Booking Standard works – even in simple form. 
  2. Implementation is achievable and fast – it’s not a multi-year transformation. 
  3. The future gains are far larger than the initial effort. 

DCSA will continue working with partners on pilot projects. If you are interested, check out our Partnership page.  

Learn more

DCSA will continue working with partners on pilot projects. If you are interested, check out our Partnership page.  

Learn more

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