The SCDEX is a format for publishing information about supply chain locations and the organizations affiliated with them in machine readable JSON. By establishing a standard language to define a set of objects and relationships between them, we can more efficiently and accurately model supply chains to consequently facilitate data exchange between different stakeholders and improve visibility, efficiency and decision making.
The Supply Chain Data Exchange Standard is intended to be global and open data exchange standard that enables the implementation of new due diligence directives such as the CSDDD, CSDR, and HRDD, and ensures that reporting of and research on supply chains data remains accessible and non-duplicative for both civil society organizations, corporations, policy implementors and auditors, and suppliers alike.
There are three main features that the supply chain data exchange standard aims to do. 1) set a core data exchange standard with enough minimum viable data identifiers for identifying a production facility and its relationship to other production facilities or organizations in the exchange 2) enable bridging to extensions custom built for organizations, sectors, or use cases and 3) create a foundational layer for eventual data exchange based on the standard.
By design, the core data schema of the SC DEX is minimal, as this allows for data contributions from all stakeholders, eventually including data inputs from areas that may be in low-connectivity or through mobile device access. Extensions are intended to be custom built and share enough data identifiers with the core data schema to enable easy bridging. The core data schema will always be kept openly accessible and governed by all contributors of the data exchange standard, while extensions can be created and maintained by anyone.
More information about the exchange standard, core and extension data schema, and how to contribute are available here:
- Core Specification
- List of Extensions
- Guide to Creating Extensions
- Blog Posts: Introduction, Data Standards Mapping, Public Policy, Governance
- Expert Interview Series
Want to build an extension? Propose a change to the core data schema? Have ideas for use cases or pilots and want help getting started? We're building this in the open in order to maximize usefulness and adoption by all global supply chains stakeholders. You can find resources to join the community of contributors, share about this work, or the shape the future development roadmap at these links below:
- Slack Group
- Open Letter of Commitment
- Contribution Guideline
- Future Development Roadmap
We've love to see you in our Slack Group for general discussions, questions, and meeting the ecosystem. You'll also find specific channels that link to research, notes, and workspaces stored in this Google Drive. Our shared calendar of meetings is open to the public and will be populated with sessions for each workstream, and please sign up for general updates by following our LinkedIn page or email list.
Thanks so much for being here!