IN Brief:
- FIATA and the Global Shippers Forum have launched a signable version of their Data Governance Charter.
- The charter covers data ownership, permissions, protection, breach reporting, and fair platform conduct.
- FIATA is moving from broad principles toward formal commitments across its digital supply chain ecosystem.
FIATA and the Global Shippers Forum have launched a signable version of their Data Governance Charter, moving the initiative from a statement of principles to a framework that organisations can formally adopt. The change gives freight forwarders, shippers, technology suppliers, and other digital trade participants a clearer basis for setting expectations around how commercially sensitive data is stored, analysed, protected, and used.
The charter was first published in 2023, but the new signable version introduces a more formal route for organisations to register their support and align their internal practices. FIATA said it will also be able to progressively require software providers it works with to sign the charter as part of their engagement, tightening the governance expectations applied across parts of its ecosystem. That shifts the conversation from voluntary good practice toward a more operational standard for digital freight collaboration.
The framework is built around five core principles: data ownership, permission requirements for storage and analysis, duty of care in data protection, obligations to report data breaches, and fair market responsibilities for large platform operators. Dr Stéphane Graber, Director General of FIATA, said responsible data governance was “not optional” and described it as a fundamental expectation for organisations working with the federation. The language is significant because it places commercial control of trade data much closer to the centre of platform relationships, at a point when digital forwarding tools, transport management systems, and electronic trade documents are becoming more deeply embedded in day-to-day operations.
For shippers and forwarders, the charter also creates a more practical reference point when reviewing platform contracts and end-user agreements. James Hookham, Director of the Global Shippers Forum, said the charter could be used as a checklist of protections covering how data is stored and handled by digital transport management systems. That gives the industry a clearer benchmark at a time when questions around data access, analytics rights, and platform leverage are becoming harder to separate from the commercial terms of freight execution itself.
