Freight Forwarders: Your Future is Blockchain
In last week’s post we helped explain the basics of blockchain and why it is poised to transform many components of the world economy (and why it’s much more than just bitcoin hype). This week, we’re drilling down to explore why blockchain is well-suited to logistics in general, and ocean freight in particular.
After spending much time on this topic here at ColoadX, we’re more convinced than ever that blockchain is a topic that cannot be ignored by freight forwarders or NVOCC’s.
The Basics of Blockchain
First, let’s review: Blockchain is simply a list of events or transactions, sometimes called a ledger. It is completely secure, and an entry cannot be changed once it’s been made. Whenever there is a business process composed of a series of steps involving two or more parties, they are recorded in this ledger, and only the parties involved can access them.
Right away, mention of “a list of events or transactions” should immediately call to mind logistics. It comprises one of the most complex series of events there is. Think of all the steps required to take something from raw material to an end-product at the last mile. There are dozens, often hundreds, and sometimes thousands of stages. Each step requires at least a two-way agreement between parties, each with its own economics, paperwork, regulatory issues, and physical limitations. Each step is dependent on the step before it, so if one link of the chain is broken, the entire chain fails. There’s basically no room for error..
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About Author: Fauad Shariff