Designing smarter ports: How Aardling helped Portbase model their customs system with DDD

The Challenge

Portbase, the digital logistics hub established by the Port of Rotterdam and Port of Amsterdam, enables efficient data exchange between port businesses and Customs to streamline operations across Dutch ports.

One area creating significant friction was the handling of temporary storage (RTO) for non-EU goods. Each deep-sea terminal maintained its own storage administration, leading to inconsistent processes, limited transparency for Customs, and unnecessary administrative overhead. At the same time, new regulatory requirements meant terminals had to evolve their systems, increasing complexity and coordination costs.

Portbase saw an opportunity to introduce a centralised, EU-compliant temporary storage system that would unify processes, support paperless cargo transfers between terminals, and give Customs a port-wide view of container movements. Achieving this required alignment across stakeholders and clarity within a highly complex operational domain.

The Solution

Aardling guided Portbase in applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD) to understand and structure the domain before implementation began.

Through domain discovery and EventStorming sessions, teams mapped the full lifecycle of temporary storage processes. These sessions surfaced inefficiencies and clarified terminology across teams, a critical step in improving collaboration.

The team modelled key workflows, including imports, exports, container transfers, and handling damaged cargo. By analysing workflows separately and then comparing them, they identified shared patterns and defined core workflows that could be extended for different scenarios.

These models allowed teams to explore alternatives and evaluate trade-offs before writing code, creating rapid feedback loops and supporting informed decision-making.

The Outcome

Portbase now has a robust domain model and shared framework supporting the development of a centralised temporary storage system that meets stakeholder needs and complies with EU legislation.

The initiative established a unified way of working across terminals, improving transparency and reducing administrative burden. It also created a foundation for future capabilities, including paperless cargo transfers and port-wide monitoring for Customs.

The modelling work continues to guide decision-making and system evolution.

By embedding collaborative modelling into their way of working, Portbase gained a practical tool for managing complexity and evolving critical port infrastructure with confidence.