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.
As many drivers and small fleets worry about the impact on productivity and cost with the upcoming mandate to install electronic logging devices, one overlooked aspect is what impact ELDs will have on their insurance rates.
Amazingly, there’s one area of the country where more than 80% of the nation’s freight travels through on its way to its final destination. It’s not Chicago, New York or Dallas. It’s not even in the center of the U.S. Meet Freight Alley.
Weather disruptions such as Winter Storm Stella that is dumping up to 2 feet of snow on the Northeast today can have a ripple effect throughout the supply chain, driving up rates as freight pickups and deliveries are delayed and cancelled.
The required implementation of electronic logging devices later this year has created plenty of worry within industry circles. Beyond the logistics of installing the devices, though, carriers and shippers need to be worried about the business impact: specifically lost productivity and rising rates.
Those on both sides of the freight business have struggled for years with volatile shipping rates. Contracts get locked in for months or more with no assurance that the contract will reflect current prices when loads are delivered. TransVix believes part of the solution to this problem is the creation of a Trucking Futures Exchange.
Steve Sashihara, CEO of Princeton Consultants, recently spoke about disruptive technologies and Big Data in the transportation space. Here are 9 areas of impact he identified. Each slide represents the belief that industry stakeholders surveyed have in digital disruption. (Click the arrow to scroll through).
As transportation providers begin reporting their earnings for the 4th quarter, a common theme is developing – while profits are down slightly, the outlook for 2017 remains positive.
