The foundations of the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics (GCEL) were first constructed out of the need to resolve growing trade inefficiencies within the Global Logistics Industry (GLI), which had accumulated after years of globalization generated by the advent of trade containerization.

The growing fragmentation between global trading parties has contributed to higher domestic and international trade cost for all nations. However, this especially hinders mid- and low-income countries, where such trade cost around three to four times that of high-income countries. These extra costs nullify the labor cost advantage of the mid and low-income countries and limits foreign direct investment to them.

Following the tragic events of 9/11, and in response to the urgent need for efficient and secure trade, Axiolog, a Michigan-based USA company, founded the Secure Cargo Anti-Terrorism Coalition (SCAC) in 2003.

The primary objective of SCAC was to demonstrate the ability to achieve new levels of trade efficiency and security through the deployment of advanced open access information technology.

This led to the formulation of the Multi-Dimensional Digital Economy Application System (MDDEAS).

This advanced technology was successfully “Proven in Practice” by SCAC over one of the world’s busiest border crossings, handling more than USD 110 billion in annual shipments between Ontario in Canada and Michigan in the United States.

The response to the successful results was overwhelmingly positive, leading to favorable endorsements from a broad range of public and private sector leaders worldwide.

Following the expert testimony of Captain Salloum, the Co-Chairman of GCEL, to a U.S. Congressional Select Committee on Homeland Security, the principal tenets of the technology influenced 7 out of 10 elements included within Presidential Directives, National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) #41 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) #13.

With that understanding, GCEL was created as a PPP in 2005 by government and private-sector leaders, representing the interests of the manufacturing, agriculture and material-handling industries. After rapidly expanding international recognition, in 2006 GCEL was legally established in Switzerland as a non-profit organization under article 60 of the Swiss Civil Code.

GCEL partnered with the Johor Corporation, a government-linked economic development arm from the state of Johor Malaysia. The GCEL Asia Regional Headquarters was established at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

The Asia Regional Council provides the voice of the B2B participants within the Asia Region to ensure continuous enhacement of the Digital Economy Platform capabilities.

India was the first G20 country to undertake the India Shipment Efficiency Assessment (SEA), a diagnostic evaluation of its trade practices to improve their efficiency through the use of new digital tools.

The India SEA was completed in cooperation with India’s Ministry of Shipping, India Institute of Management-Udaipur, the Confederation of Indian Industry and GCEL. The assessment collected nearly 60,000 data points across 19 industry clusters covering every economic zone through face to face interviews. The results were staggering, 94% do not have an integrated system and 83% want the Digital Economy Platform to do a better job at the ground level.

The Digital Economy became a key component of the 2016 G20 Leaders official communiqué, and the G20 Leaders established the Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Initiative as a key policy directive.

G20 Nations Case Study

GCEL completed the G20 Nations Case Study a four-year diagnostic assessment of supply chain efficiency. This case study, was completed in cooperation with 90 G20 ministries, IGOs/NGOs, academia and private sector experts involving face to face interviews, collecting 1.2 million data points across 19 industry clusters covering every economic zone. The results indicated:

– 90.4% of B2B participants do not have an integrated system.
– Banks and insurance were among the least integrated to the global value chains.
– 94.6% of respondents want a digital economy platform to be more competitive.

Technology Industry Commitment

GCEL executed strategic agreements with 30 technology companies, including the world’s largest firms towards selection to 13 exclusive seats to deploy the Digital Economy Platform globally. These firms recognize that:

– The solution works
– They cannot deploy the solution alone due to geopolitical monopolistic and data privacy concerns
– They can more than triple their earnings by delivering thousands of apps to the B2B marketplace