MIND

The project optimizes the onboarding of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) as data providers in the Mobility Data Space (MDS) by establishing a data trustee. The focus is on SME in logistics, especially those involved in first- and middle-mile logistics. Standardized interfaces, clear minimum requirements, and a secure data trustee model reduce technical and organizational hurdles and pave the way for data-driven applications.

The challenge

SMEs face considerable hurdles when entering data spaces: concerns about know-how leakage, unclear data protection and compliance requirements (GDPR, Supply Chain Due Diligence Act), lack of scalable IT, and limited data expertise. Data must be quality-assured, up-to-date, and interoperable, ideally in real time. At the same time, middle-mile logistics requires transparency, efficient utilization, and standardized interfaces. Without support, investment risks, integration costs, and security concerns remain high.

Our service 

We establish the MIND data trustee as an onboarding service provider: It provides a secure infrastructure, connectors, and tools for data collection, quality assurance, anonymization, and exchange (legal and technical enforcement). A practical capability map defines minimum technical and organizational requirements. We integrate logistics and vehicle data via standardized interfaces, model a reference architecture including governance, train SMEs in data competence, and support operation, monitoring, and scaling—MDS-compliant and transferable to other data spaces.

The result 

The result is a detailed onboarding guide, including an operational data trust setup. This enables SMEs to integrate into the MDS more quickly and cost-effectively, retain control of their data, and meet compliance requirements. An example use case shows improved route planning, higher utilization, fewer empty runs, and reduced CO₂ emissions. Transparent, interoperable data flows strengthen collaboration – with the prospect of use in Catena-X, Mobilithek, and other data spaces.

The partners

• TU Dortmund – Chair of Industrial Information Management (IIM)
• Universität Paderborn – Heinz Nixdorf Instut (HNI) specialist group Advanced Systems Engineering (ASE)
   

Associated partners

• Mobility Data Space
• it’s OWL Clustermanagement GmbH – intelligente technische Systeme OstWestfalenLippe
• Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL
• Gaia-X Hub Germany
• Cargoboard GmbH & Co KG
• Open Logistics Foundation

The funding

• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR)
• Funding reference: 16DTM413A
• Term: 06/2025 - 04/2026