CTN Terminology Clarification

Purpose

This document clarifies the distinction between two frequently used terms in our documentation:

1. Connected Trade Network (CTN) - the initiative/project/system
2. Container Transport - the business process being improved

Maintaining this clarity is essential for stakeholder communication, especially when discussing the CTN initiative with industry partners who work in container transport.

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Key Distinctions

Connected Trade Network (CTN)

What it is:

• A digital infrastructure initiative implementing the BDI framework
• For 2026: an Association Register plus endpoint registration that lets data providers and consumers discover and authenticate each other
• A technology platform enabling secure data sharing
• An ecosystem of tools, standards, and protocols

Use cases:

• “The Connected Trade Network (CTN) enables secure data sharing…”
• “The CTN initiative addresses container transport challenges…”
• “The CTN system implements BDI principles for…”
• “Participants in the CTN ecosystem…”

Key attributes:

• Has a defined architecture (arc42 documentation)
• Has a defined 2026 scope (Association Register + endpoint registration + use case Visibility Achterland Containerlogistiek)
• Implements BDI framework principles
• Provides digital infrastructure
• Cloud-agnostic by design (Azure as the current reference implementation)

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Container Transport

What it is:

• The business process of moving containers from origin to destination
• The physical operations involving ships, trains, trucks, terminals
• The industry domain that CTN serves
• The logistics activities being digitally coordinated

Use cases:

• “Container transport involves an average of 20 different parties…”
• “Challenges in the container transport industry…”
• “Container transport operations require real-time data sharing…”
• “Container transport data includes ETAs, locations, customs status…”
• “Parties involved in container transport: carriers, terminals, truckers…”

Key attributes:

• Physical, operational process
• Involves multiple modes (ship, rail, truck)
• Requires coordination between many parties
• Generates operational data (locations, times, status)
• Existed before CTN and will continue regardless of CTN

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Relationship Between CTN and Container Transport

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Container Transport (Business Process)    │
│                                             │
│  Physical movement of containers involving: │
│  • Ocean shipping                           │
│  • Rail transport                           │
│  • Trucking                                 │
│  • Terminal operations                      │
│  • Customs clearance                        │
│                                             │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │  Connected Trade Network (CTN)        │ │
│  │                                       │ │
│  │  Digital infrastructure that:         │ │
│  │  • Coordinates container transport    │ │
│  │  • Enables secure data sharing        │ │
│  │  • Manages party relationships        │ │
│  │  • Controls data access               │ │
│  │  • Issues digital credentials         │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

CTN is the digital layer that improves container transport

The relationship:

• Container transport is the problem domain
• CTN is the solution being built

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Common Terminology Patterns

✅ Correct Usage

When referring to the initiative/system:

• “The Connected Trade Network (CTN) initiative”
• “CTN architecture”
• “CTN implementation”
• “CTN registers”
• “CTN participants”
• “CTN ecosystem”
• “Deploying CTN on Azure”
• “CTN’s Association Register”

When referring to the business process:

• “Container transport operations”
• “Container transport industry”
• “Container transport data”
• “Container transport challenges”
• “Parties in container transport”
• “Container transport efficiency”
• “Intermodal container transport”

When showing the relationship:

• “CTN addresses container transport challenges”
• “CTN enables secure data sharing in container transport”
• “CTN implements BDI for the container transport domain”
• “Container transport parties use CTN to coordinate operations”

❌ Avoid Ambiguous Usage

Ambiguous:

• “CTN involves 20 different parties” ❌

  • Better: “Container transport involves 20 different parties that CTN coordinates” ✅

• “CTN moves containers from origin to destination” ❌

  • Better: “CTN coordinates the data sharing for container transport from origin to destination” ✅

• “Container transport architecture” ❌

  • Better: “CTN architecture for container transport” ✅

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Writing Guidelines

When describing CTN

Focus on:

• Digital infrastructure
• Data sharing capabilities
• Register architecture
• Token-based authorization
• BDI implementation
• Technology platform

Example sentences:

• “The CTN initiative provides a secure platform for data sharing in container transport.”
• “The CTN architecture implements BDI principles to address container transport coordination challenges.”
• “Container transport parties use the CTN system to share operational data securely.”

When describing Container Transport

Focus on:

• Physical operations
• Party relationships
• Operational data
• Logistics processes
• Industry challenges
• Multi-modal coordination

Example sentences:

• “Container transport typically involves ocean carriers, terminals, rail operators, and trucking companies.”
• “Challenges in container transport include fragmented data and lack of visibility.”
• “Container transport operations generate large amounts of operational data at terminals, vessels, and warehouses.”

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Document Review Checklist

When writing or reviewing CTN documentation, verify:

• “CTN” refers to the digital infrastructure/initiative, not the physical transport process
• “Container transport” refers to the business process, not the IT system
• The relationship between CTN and container transport is clear
• Stakeholders can distinguish between the solution (CTN) and the problem domain (container transport)
• Technical components are attributed to CTN (registers, tokens, APIs)
• Operational elements are attributed to container transport (ships, terminals, cargo)

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Glossary References

For complete term definitions, see:

• CTN Glossary - Full terminology reference
• BDI Framework Principles - BDI and CTN relationship

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Summary

Aspect	Connected Trade Network (CTN)	Container Transport
Nature	Digital infrastructure initiative	Physical logistics process
Type	IT system/platform	Business operations
Components	Registers, tokens, APIs, policies	Ships, terminals, trucks, rail
Scope	Data sharing and coordination	Moving physical containers
Deliverable	Software platform on Azure	Transported cargo
Stakeholders	IT architects, developers, data owners	Logistics operators, carriers, terminals
Documentation	Arc42 architecture docs	Standard operating procedures
Success metric	Secure data sharing enabled	Containers delivered on time

Remember: CTN is the digital solution that improves container transport operations through secure, coordinated data sharing.

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This clarification guide should be referenced when writing or reviewing any CTN documentation to ensure consistent and clear terminology.