Blockchain

Talk about disruptive companies. Every startup in the transportation space these days is touting itself as a disruptive company. A few will become just that. Many, if not most, will not. But few are also introducing a technology, let alone a service, that is disruptive.

Blockchain entrepreneurs have an opportunity. The logistics industry is ripe for disruption and blockchain technology is ready to take the lead.

McLeod Software has joined the Blockchain in Trucking Alliance (BiTA), a new organization focused on the promotion and educational efforts to utilizing blockchain technology in the transportation ecosystem.

An industry that has a reputation of being behind the curve on technology may be at the forefront of one of the most important technological developments in decades. Yes, the trucking industry is poised to lead the blockchain way, and BiTA plans to help it get there.

The I-95 Corridor Coalition is moving forward with research that will help it determine whether a mileage use tax is the right approach to taxing in Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.

Picture a 40-foot container traveling from Mainland China to a suburb of Los Angeles. It often experiences more complications between the Port of LA and final destination than it does during its international trip. Is blockchain the solution to these problems?

One of the great vulnerabilities in any nation is the food supply. The movement of food is dependent on many entities ensuring compliance with regulations, proper temperature control, proper handling and cleaning and more, including security. That is where blockchain technology holds great promise.

There is a new option that companies are flocking to quickly raise capital: an ICO – initial coin offering. But there are inherent risks in doing so, and they may be too great to overcome for transportation firms.

Blockchain is a technology that is rapidly growing in many industries, and its potential to disrupt traditional work flows in transportation is large. This graphic illustrates some of the potential areas where blockchain can be used to improve operations.

Unlike some technologies, blockchain technology is not likely to displace many workers in the trucking industry. It does promise, however, to streamline financial operations and compliance reporting to make those operations more seamless, potentially saving fleets tens of thousands of dollars.

Once a disparate group of entities, the modern supply chain is becoming more akin to a well-oiled machine thanks to technological advances. As it becomes more digitized, the business case for blockchain technology becomes more powerful. 

“The potential here is phenomenal. The match between what blockchain offers and the industry pain points is incredible," says Bridget McDermott, vice president of Blockchain Business Development for IBM. So what exactly is blockchain? 

Blockchain is a relatively new term used to describe a series of distributed databases that act as a tamper-proof, verifiable ledger. As with any new technology, blockchain has its own terminology. Here is a listing of some of the most important terms and their meanings.