TradeLens project, a company working at blockchain adoption in the supply chain industry is spreading the technology among port operators. The distributed ledger technological solution is powered by Maersk and IBM has been adopted by Modern Terminals, the second largest Terminal operator in Hong Kong.
A release by Modern Terminal regarding the issue said that the TradeLens enable cheaper, faster and more efficient operations using blockchain.
The statement said that the efficiency of the project is such that 20 terminal operators in five continents have already adopted it as a standard for operation covering more than 230 docks globally.
Some of the ports that have adopted the system built by TradeLens are Port of Valencia, PSA Singapore, Patrick Terminals, Port of Halifax, Port of Bilbao, PortBase, PortConnect and the Port of Philadelphia
The report said that terminal operators and other players in the supply chain management lose billions of dollars annually using antiquated traditional means.
This has been effectively modernized and made more efficient using blockchain.
Prior to the introduction of the TradeLens blockchain based solution, most of these port operators were using the traditional paper records which made operations inefficient putting records at risk of losses and delays being prone to alterations or even loss.
Errors can also occur due to manual filing of records causing businesses losses.
TradeLens claims that a test run of their blockchain project improved the operational efficiency of operators by 40 percent by making all the constituents of the supply chain more efficient.
“It does not seem like much, but it is,” Peter Levesque, Group Managing Director of Modern Terminals, said while speaking to a local media. “Without blockchain, you’re going on faith that what’s on the document is what’s in the container.”
Many industries have been seeking ways to enhance blockchain adoption in their operations since the prospects of the technology became obvious.
Modern Terminals in its participation is running a test to suggest improvements on the system to TradeLens. The feedback from the company and other Terminal operators that are involved in the beta test will help TradeLens improve the system based on the flaws reported by the users of the system.
“The potential from offering a neutral, open digital platform for safe and easy ways of exchanging information is huge, and all players across the supply chain stand to benefit,”
Maersk’s chief commercial officer Vincent Clerc said in an earlier interview at the beginning of the year.
“This initiative will generate tremendous savings for our industry over time while enhancing global supply chain security,” said Levesque. “That is the Holy Grail – one place to see the whole [supply chain] in one spot.”
There are other companies researching on developing blockchain based solutions for supply chain management systems just as Maersk and IBM.
LaneAxis is another company working on the blockchain for supply chain system. The essence is to give all players in the system access to real-time data regarding all aspects of shipping such as documentations state of shipping and its location.
Smart contracts have become a viable tool in ensuring the so-called trustlessness and compliance by all parties to the shipping being fail-proof and capable of executing without partiality.
These smart contracts run based on predetermined agreements and are unalterable. Their attraction is mainly this feature and the fact that they help eliminate third-parties whose services increase shipping costs by up to 30 percent.
