The report from our third and final IPCSA Foresight Workshop in Rotterdam is now available for download here.
Hosted by Portbase and supported by the Port of Rotterdam, the two-day workshop brought together delegates from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas to work through contrasting future scenarios for Port Community Systems and Single Windows — ranging from fragmented, data-restricted trade environments to a fully hyperconnected global supply chain. Using structured facilitation methods including the GROW model, the Pre-Mortem technique and the Reversal approach, participants were challenged to move beyond reactive thinking and translate uncertainty into strategic opportunity.
A recurring theme across both days was the evolving role of PCS as critical digital infrastructure — no longer simply operational efficiency tools, but trusted platforms for trade facilitation, data governance and ecosystem coordination. Presentations from Portbase’s strategy team and Professor Albert Veenstra of Rotterdam School of Management underlined the stakes: the digital maturity of logistics remains uneven, data quality is an increasing liability, and developments such as the EU Customs Data Hub and digital product passports will reshape how PCS interact with regulatory and commercial partners alike. On AI, the message was clear and grounded — it can accelerate digitalisation, but only when the problem is well defined, the underlying data infrastructure is sound, and the community is carried along with it.
The workshop also concluded the Foresight journey that began in Dubai and continued in Casablanca. The collective intelligence built across all three workshops will be distilled into a final report with in-depth analysis, recommendations and conclusions, to be formally presented at the IPCSA Members Meeting in Marseille on 28 and 29 October.
A sincere thank you to all participants and to the Foresight Group for their commitment and openness throughout this process. Download the Rotterdam workshop report below and join us in Marseille to see where the journey leads next.
Download: Foresight Workshop Report – Rotterdam