Standardization News

ASTM International’s digital information in the supply chain committee (F49) has approved a new standard that provides foundational terminology related to the naturally occurring sequential phases of the goods movement process. F3682 is the first approved standard developed by F49, which was established in 2022. 

“The goods movement process outlined in the new standard provides a common framework for talking about the movement of goods from a seller to a buyer based on a sales order contract,” says ASTM member Michael J. Darden, founder and CEO, DFM Data Corp., Inc.

The process described in the new standard spans all transportation activities related to the end-to-end movement of goods whether or not the cargo crosses an international border, and regardless of the mode(s) of transport. This includes:

• A buyer of transport services communicates the parameters for transport, when cargo is first able to move, where it is, and where it needs to go;
• A transportation service provider is contacted to move the cargo for all or part of the journey from the seller to the buyer, for a fee, and;
• All transport orders are linked back to the sales order driving the process.

The new standard serves as the framework upon which other definitional standards related to the end-to-end movement of goods are built and is designed to incorporate other relevant standards, which will incentivize adoption. According to Darden, the new standard is most useful for shipping exchanges, digital freight matching technologies, shippers, carriers, and any purchaser of transport services.

All interested parties are invited to join the digital information in the supply chain committee in developing a variety of standards. These include several terminology standards covering event terms occurring between defined statuses of the goods movement process, and a proposed specification on the essential data set for the transport of cargo.

ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. JOIN ASTM.

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