In May 2017, Deloitte tweeted that 10% of global GDP would be built on top of blockchain applications. This huge and ambitious claim was made because of the transformative nature of the technology and the effect it will have on society. For logistics and transportation, it will have a bigger impact promising to shake up the $8T industry.
To put it simply, a blockchain is like a database. It’s a way of storing records of value and transactions. However, calling blockchain a new type of database is like saying email is a new way of sending people letters. While the blockchain is a database, that definition doesn’t explain the true genius behind how the blockchain stores records of value and transactions. We continue our blockchain news coverage of the technology and its impact on the freight markets and society as a whole.
OneLedger has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read about BiTA’s latest member and its reasons for joining.
Capital Logistics is the newest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read about the company, as well as BiTA’s efforts to develop blockchain standards for transportation and logistics.
Gemini Shippers Group, a non-profit shippers association that is nearly 100 years old, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read about Gemini and why it has joined BiTA.
Hapag-Lloyd (FSE: HLAG) and Ocean Network Express (ONE) says they will join the TradeLens blockchain platform developed by Maersk (Nasdaq OMX: MAER.B) and IBM (NYSE: IBM). The fifth- and sixth-largest carriers respectively, Hapag-Lloyd and ONE join CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in using the platform. TradeLens now extends to more than half of […]
Ben Thrower writes about the potential of Facebook’s new cryptocurrency.
BiTA’s Patrick Duffy informs committee of blockchain approaching critical mass
Automotive industry supply chain expert Surgere has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read more about Surgere and BiTA.
It appears that Chinese retail investors are moving capital out of the country in response to the devaluation of the yuan.
Blockchain technology can disrupt the transportation industry by bringing in digitization, trust and transparency to the market. But this will not be possible without a clear set of common and open standards.
In a future where autonomous vehicles offer mobility-as-a-service, it is critical to identify the parties involved in transactions – the users and the vehicles. Blockchain can help in this regard.
Retail giant Carrefour is leveraging blockchain to track the provenance of the food products it stocks in its stores, thereby providing its consumers information that far exceeds the data provided on conventional product packaging.
Market expert Brian Aoaeh writes about the new Digital Shipping Container Alliance and why standards are important to industry. He also writes about why getting standards written and adopted is particularly difficult.
McCarter & English, a 400-attorney firm with a national client base and a thriving supply chain and logistics practice, has joined Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), the largest commercial blockchain consortium in the world with nearly 500 members from the freight, transportation, logistics and affiliated industries. BiTA, whose members generate more than $1 trillion in […]
Apart from creating visibility and transparency within coffee supply chains, blockchain can significantly improve livelihoods of coffee farmers by giving them a bigger share of the profit pie.
Factom Protocol is the newest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read more about this company and its products, as well about BiTA.
Developers are poised to bring new software to the ocean shipping sector. What will work and what will not?
Hubtek has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read about this new company and why it joined the Alliance.
Data’s role in improving operational efficiency within the freight industry is growing bigger, even as security concerns around keeping data secure is mounting.
TranzAct Technologies is the latest company to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read why it has joined BiTA and learn more about the company.
Blockchain can help expedite customs procedures, reduce expenses and boost both global trade volumes and economic output.
DrayNow, the first real-time marketplace connecting intermodal freight with carriers, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). BiTA is developing best practices and standards for blockchain in the transportation industry. Blockchain is an open, distributed digital ledger that can record and share transactions between two or more parties efficiently, securely and permanently. Blockchain enables […]
Global container carriers CMA CGM and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) today announced they will join TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled digital shipping platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM.
The Saudi customs has successfully piloted its first shipment through TradeLens, a blockchain-based platform developed collaboratively by Maersk and IBM.
Saudi Arabia Customs successfully transported a container to the Port of Rotterdam using blockchain for the packing list and commercial documents.
Sustainable Shrimp Partnership has partnered with IBM to leverage blockchain and provide stakeholders end-to-end visibility into shrimp supply chains.
Agoric CEO Dean Tribble explained how smart contracts use cases in logistics are interdependent and build on each other.
According to IBM research, transport execs are keen to adopt blockchain and understand its use cases.
The Blockchain Research Institute (BRI) and Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) announced a partnership to support members of both organizations in their efforts to build a collaborative network of leaders in blockchain technology last September. BRI Managing Director Hilary Carter spoke at this week’s BiTA Spring Symposium in Atlanta, offering members insight into how the […]
Patrick Duffy is the new President of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
FreightWaves Radio’s eleventh national show was broadcast on Saturday, May 4 on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146. Unlike other industry-specific radio shows that often have particular messaging or lobbying aims, FreightWaves Radio is an independent, data-driven look at what’s really going on in the freight world, and the episode proved just that. Hosts Chad Prevost […]
Domino’s Pizza has partnered with SingularityNET, to test decentralized AI services in an attempt to automate portions of its delivery operations.
Competitors agree on need to collaborate on common standards during Blockchain Revolution Global conference.
J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of safety and compliance solutions, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA)
Though blockchain looks to be promising, companies are still not convinced on the trustability of a blockchain network and it would take more than a few pilots to persuade stakeholders to join together on a single common decentralized ledger.
Getting stakeholders to cooperate in creating interoperability within blockchain networks is the next hurdle that the technology needs to overcome for mainstream adoption.
A panel in Blockchain Expo 2019 spoke on how blockchain solutions can be used for increasing transparency, profitability and provenance in supply chains across a variety of markets.
Datapace is the latest company to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Learn more about Datapace and BiTA in this article.
LA caught between straits of labor and capital; group looks for ocean freight’s Esperanto; and digital-first forwarder gets $20m funding.
Des Moines Truck Brokers (DMTB) is the latest company to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Learn more about DMTB and why it joined BiTA.
Another outbreak of salmonella poisoning has occurred – this one caused by tainted fruit. Read how blockchain could help deter and detect these outbreaks before they harm many.
Cocoa farming in Africa witnesses a lot of forced and child labor, which can be eliminated if the stakeholders within chocolate supply chains can have transparency on end-to-end operations.
Albertsons Companies is now part of the IBM Food Trust network, and plans to use blockchain in tracking its food produce from the farm to its store shelves.
Some benefits of blockchain that cut through the hype and change the game.
The momentum is strongest in developing countries, where concerns about pollution and traffic congestion are mounting.
Spanish logistics provider ChainGO Tech has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance. Read why the company joined the Alliance and what it hopes to achieve with its membership.
As food product recalls are becoming a frequent occurrence on account of contamination fears, the time is right for companies to look towards blockchain for creating better visibility into their supply chains and to reduce generic en masse recalls wherever possible.
The contradiction between the federal and state regulations on growing and distributing marijuana could be alleviated by bringing trustability into pot supply chains. This can be done by adopting blockchain technology which can account for every step of the marijuana logistics process from the field to the consumer’s doorstep.
Hong Kong-based Tigers, a global transportation and logistics company, is the latest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). BiTA is developing blockchain standards for the global transportation/logistics/supply chain marketplace.
The BiTA Standards Council has ratified the Alliance’s first data standard in record time. Read about the standard and the foundational framework endorsed by the Council.
GT Solutions, a transportation solutions provider based in France, is the latest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). BiTA is developing blockchain standards for the global transportation/logistics marketplace.
Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) has published its inaugural blockchain standards, with the consortium trusting the framework would act as a springboard for companies within the industry to develop blockchain-related applications.
Bumble Bee Foods is now using the SAP cloud platform blockchain service to trace the journey of yellowfin tuna from the Indonesian ocean to the consumers’ dinner table.
CargoX and dexFreight, the two blockchain logistics companies will collaborate in offering digital bill of lading solutions and cost-effective logistics operations.
Minnesota’s Tom Emmer sees blockchain hype giving way to reality and more widespread use of the technology taking hold – as long as Congress helps clear a path.
Asset Balance Solutions is the latest member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). BiTA just released the first blockchain standard for the freight/logistics/supply chain industries.
BLOC recently collaborated with mining company BHP, Japanese shipping company NYK, and biofuel company GoodFuels, to deliver sustainable biofuel to the BHP-chartered, NYK-owned bulk carrier – all via BLOC’s blockchain fuels assurance platform.
Columbia Transport, based in Italy, joins the Blockchain in Transport Alliance.
Dale Chrystie of FedEx was elected as the first chair of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) Standards Council (BiTAS), during its February Board of Directors meeting.
DAC, a Polish software development and hardware integration company, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), the largest commercial blockchain partnership in the world.
Scanlog, a Scandinavian logistics company will use ShipChain’s technology to improve visibility into its trucking operations, and plans to monitor up to a dozen Scanlog trucks by the end of the year.
dexFreight introduced the Early Adopters Program, through which companies that sign up will have exclusive access to early release versions of the dexFreight platform, and have the opportunity to interact with dexFreight’s development and product teams.
Cold supply chains suffer from opacity in their operations, which could turn disastrous especially during handoffs – when products are left unattended and might slip out of the prescribed conditions it needs to be stored under. Technology like IoT sensors and blockchain could help companies to monitor their cargo movement better.
Goods that are stuck at the borders would have to be declared at customs before entering the UK. The magnitude of the declarations would mean long queues at the port, and the U.K. government has reason to believe that blockchain could help avoid that.
SIMBA Chain has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed financing round, according to PR Newswire. Backers of the round include Elevate Ventures, the Notre Dame Pit Road Fund, Tracy Graham (chief executive officer of Data Reality) and Hari Agarwal (chief executive officer of AECI International).
In the transportation and logistics circles, blockchain has been an enigma – a technology that holds extensive promise on paper, and yet on the flip side, is extremely hard to implement.
Stakeholders within supply chains need to realize the potential of blockchain and look to work on pilot programs that can translate into commercial applications a few years down the road.
There are a lot of companies out there and it’s a number that is likely to shrink, according to the panel. Also on the agenda: blockchain and making yourself stand out in a crowded field.
Convoy, the powerful nationwide trucking network and platform for both shippers and carriers, is partnering with FreightWaves on the first-ever Shipper of Choice Award.
Inxeption has designed the first blockchain-based e-commerce platform for B2B that catalogs and digitizes product information.
A.N. Deringer, Inc., a leading international logistics provider and customs broker, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
SupplyOn, an IT service provider that specializes in intelligent supply chain management solutions for discrete manufacturing in automotive, aerospace, rail, and engineering, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance.
Blockchain based supply chain startup Citizens Reserve has partnered with IoT platform Smartrac to assign physical items a digital identity that can be carefully and accurately traced along the supply chain.
By joining BiTA, Daseke will be at the forefront of shaping the development and deployment of blockchain technology in trucking and logistics.
The enthusiasm was infectious. While most companies are in the exploratory phase of blockchain, we’re starting to see more and more people taking action on blockchain.
Though cobalt is an integral part of our lithium-ion batteries, the extraction of the trace element is a huge cause for concern. Blockchain could provide respite by bringing accountability and transparency into cobalt supply chains.
Walking the show floor at the Detroit Auto Show is an experience that transforms you from the here and now to visions of the future.
Manufacturing supply chains must deal with counterfeit parts. One company is hoping that its blockchain-based tracking solution can help solve that while also providing transparency in the freight supply chain.
Storing real-time data from aircraft and sea vessels on the cloud has been subject to a lot of debate, as the data that gets transmitted could be hacked in by people with nefarious motives. Blockchain could be a respite.
The Blockchain in Transport Alliance announces that it is working with the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (ISTO) to assist the Alliance in its standards activities.
One of the oldest and largest privately-held transportation companies in the United States has joined BiTA.
Adding blockchain to existing order fulfillment software product speeds up event recording required for invoice approval.
A blockchain solution adds transparency to the transportation space.
David Bryan and Kari Dwyer of Keyturn demonstrated at MarketWaves 18 how their product can solve the data verification challenge prevalent along the construction supply chain.
CargoChain aims to make it easier for all the parties in the supply chain – shippers, truckers, ports, authorities, everyone, to share what data they want, with who they want, how they want, when they want. It uses BlockChain to provide security and trust.
Routeique will bring its expertise in end-to-end supply chain management to the Alliance.
Trucking companies will already be aware of the difficulties of recruiting reliable staff and according to Jackfruit Systems those difficulties will get worseover the coming decade. So the development of Fleet Operate will help match available drivers to cargo ready for transportation.
Blocklet Trusted Vehicle Applications offer a trouble free method of recording and logging critical vehicle data as the truck is operating. The system sends a data packeage that is verified and posted to the blockchain promoting trust and transparency.
Srini Vasan and Terry Beaudine demonstrate at MarketWaves 18 a blockchain-secured expedited parcel service they claim reduces costs on domestic and international shipments.
applya Occupational Strategies (AOS), a leading employment screening technology company, announced today that it has joined the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance (BiTA).
MarketWaves features DLT Labs presenting Asset Track platform to increase transparency and communication between shippers and carriers.
We dig into the latest negative news cycle, and what challenges blockchain faces heading into 2019.
The Chattanooga-based team at Block Array have launched a blockchain product they call FreightTrust, legal platform for shipping documents.
Zoof-It, a Netherlands-based company that provides a last-mile blockchain platform that instantly rewards for parcel delivery in a convenient, inexpensive and responsible way, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
Aries Worldwide Logistics, a Houston-based international logistics provider with over 34 years of experience, announced that the company joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
BitNautic, an all-in-one hub for the global trade industry, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), an organization dedicated to determining best practices and standards relating to blockchain in the transportation/logistics/supply chain marketplace.
Full digital automation of shipping processes may be on the way, but what are the intermediary steps leading us there?
The conference attracted over 2,000 industry players and largely revolved around the topics of Asian connectivity, the impact of trade tariffs, and technologies that are revolutionizing the logistics industry.
Ambrosus enables consumers and supply chain stakeholders to have better trust over the products they receive or consume, by using sensors that communicate to the blockchain.
