Big Ocean Cargo Carriers Join Blockchain Initiative
The addition of France’s CMA CGM SA and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company to the effort called TradeLens means the three carriers that control nearly half of all seaborne containerized cargo capacity will make the movement of freight in international supply chains more transparent and potentially generate substantial annual savings.
.. For ocean carriers, the blockchain technology allows trusted participants to share information as goods move through supply chains. The system also promises to reduce the cost of paperwork. Maersk said the maximum cost of the required documentation to process and administer many of the goods shipped each year makes up roughly one-fifth of the actual physical transportation costs.
Widespread participation across the supply chain is key to making TradeLens work, however. Many companies, including transportation operators and freight forwarders that manage the flow of goods, have been reluctant to share data on common platforms.
.. “The fact that CMA CGM is now on two platforms means blockchain solutions in shipping won’t be a winner-take-all, but there may be room for a couple of competing platforms,” said Lars Jenes, chief executive, Copenhagen-based SeaIntelligence Consulting.
.. The blockchain pact comes as Maersk and IBM are trying to reinvent themselves.
IBM has been looking to new lines of business including blockchain as sales in its legacy business of selling hardware and software slow. Maersk has been trying to transform expand its business from port-to-port shipping into more of an integrated logistics provider likeFedEx Corp.