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Another survey seems to show that the blockchain is gaining ground in the logistics sector. According to a recent survey by Hermes, a significant proportion of German logistics managers believe that the blockchain may be ready to make big changes happen in their sector.
The survey was not specific to the blockchain, but 35% of respondents recognized the importance of blockchain technology. 33% believe that big data is important for logistics, which is an area where blockchain excels.
While blockchain is not an autonomous solution for big data, it could be the basis for a new era in global logistics.
Big data is based on artificial intelligence (AI) to sort data stacks that would be impossible to handle for a human being, and blockchain could be the database technology that allows large-scale global trade to be recorded.
Blockchain is a processing technology for logistics
There are some technologies that are coming into their own at the same time. Half of the respondents to the Hermes survey thought that the blockchain is becoming increasingly important to the collaborative process, which is where there is a huge amount of efficiency waiting to be unlocked.
For hundreds of years, the shipping process has been relatively opaque. The records are often kept on paper, which makes research difficult, even within a large logistics company. Blockchain is at the center of many new technologies that could revolutionize the global maritime transport sector.
For example, let's say that a company wants to finance the purchase of a product in another country and send it to them.
Using the current system, this process could take weeks to complete and is fraught with inefficiencies.
Depending on where the buyer is, who is financing the purchase and how the products are shipped, more than ten different business entities may be involved in the transaction. They have all their systems and large-scale data collection is almost impossible from a practical point of view.
How to insert Blockchain
Now, let's introduce the blockchain and some other technologies in the equation.
A company could use a blockchain-based commercial financing platform to obtain a loan for the assets it wants to purchase and the bank issuing the credit could use the same blockchain platform to deliver the payment to the seller.
Instead of waiting for the goods to arrive at the port, a scanner powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) could confirm that the products had left the couriers' warehouses and immediately approved the payment through an intelligent contract.
Read: Blockchain and supply chain management
All the information would be contained in a shared blockchain register, and as the goods made their way through the country or the planet, the IoT sensors could track their movement from the checkpoint to the checkpoint.
When goods pass from one shipping company to another, the same sensors would approve payment for their services, without involving any human being. In the end, if all goes well, the goods would arrive at their destination, in which case the buyer would automatically incur the debt from the lending bank, as their assets come into possession of their legal possession.
Of course, there should be provisions for unforeseen circumstances. Overall, a modern system would offer all the benefits involved that could incentivize a shift towards greater use of technology and cost-saving measures.
Great players get it
It should not be surprising that some of the world's largest shipping companies are working on the distribution of blockchain systems. Many major port operators are also developing blockchain platforms that track goods as they flow through the port and greatly simplify monitoring and the customs process.
Companies specializing in commercial finance are also in blockchain. Ping-An is already using a blockchain-based platform for domestic trade finance in mainland China. The same platform seems to be the basis of the new global commercial finance platform that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is using in cooperation with some of the major Asian banks.
