Despite increasing digitalisation, time slot management in logistics is still a long way from achieving genuine interoperability across different providers. Waiting times at loading bays, manual coordination processes and proprietary interfaces therefore remain part of everyday operations. Members of the Open Logistics Foundation have therefore developed an open, vendor-neutral interface for Time Slot Management and are now looking for companies to test it under real-world conditions.
Warehouse operators need predictability, while freight forwarders need flexibility. These competing requirements are currently often coordinated through separate systems, proprietary interfaces and manual communication processes. The result is unnecessary waiting times and operational bottlenecks. “This is a prime example of a problem that can only be solved at industry level,” explains Nathalie Böhning, Innovation and Project Manager at the Open Logistics Foundation. “For digital processes to work across company boundaries, a common foundation and open standards are essential.”
The Open Logistics Foundation is addressing this problem with an open, vendor-neutral interface (API) for time slot management, providing a common basis for the real-time exchange of information between Transport Management Systems (TMS), Time Slot Management Systems (TSM) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). As with all the Open Logistics Foundation’s outputs, this API is freely available to the entire industry in the OLF Repository.
Transporeon and TradeLink have already implemented the open source API, laying the groundwork for initial testing scenarios. Gerry Daalhuisen, Senior Director Dock & Yard/Fleet Products at Transporeon, and David Bauske, Principal Software Architect at TradeLink, lead the Time Slot Management project within the Open Logistics Foundation’s Working Group Track & Trace.
Two use cases, one goal
An open standard only delivers value if it works in practice and is adopted. The Open Logistics Foundation is therefore looking for organisations to test the API under real-world conditions, contribute their requirements and actively help shape its further development.
The Open Logistics Foundation’s pilot programme is aimed at companies and organisations across the logistics chain that wish to trial standardised exchanges of transport and time slot information. A wide range of configurations is possible, from direct collaboration between two partners, such as a carrier and a Time Slot Management platform, to the cross-company integration of multiple systems across an entire transport and logistics chain.
All organisations involved in time slot management and appointment booking processes are eligible to participate, from shippers and freight forwarders to warehouse and yard operators, as well as TMS, TSM and WMS providers. Participants will gain early insights into how a standardised API can improve the integration of existing systems and logistics partners while reducing the need for individual interfaces. By engaging with the Foundation’s Working Group, including leads and early adopters Transporeon and TradeLink, participants can also explore the API’s potential for their own operational processes. At the same time, they will actively contribute to shaping the underlying technology and help ensure that it meets their requirements.
The path to a pilot project
The Call for Participation will be open for six weeks from 15 October 2026.
Once the application period has closed, the Open Logistics Foundation will review submissions together with the members involved in the project and contact suitable pilot partners. The pilot projects are scheduled to start in early 2027. Each pilot is expected to last approximately three months, although the precise timeline will depend on the individual use case and the partners involved.
