Understanding How Logistics, Communication and Digitization Change our World

Søren Skou, CEO of the Transport & Logistics division of A.P. Moller-Maersk (a major Danish business conglomerate) recently stated that “When we talk about 'smart transportation,' it is more than moving cargo from A to B. Digitization within transport and logistics means seamless service to our customers, visibility in the supply chain, and driving a more efficient business.”(1) And the truth is we cannot talk about global logistics without mentioning the way in which technology has greatly influenced and improved this sector. However, the process related to the shipment, transportation of goods and logistics has proven to be a very time consuming one. Papers, documents, communication, human resources and technology - all of them are tightly intertwined in order to deliver best results, in the shortest time possible.

For example, were you aware that 200 documents are required or exchanged to make one shipment happen? Remember, we are talking about A SINGLE shipment! Logistics is a very old industry - it began on paper, then it moved to FAX, then it went to email... however, this became a problem. All this back and forth messaging (imagine the 200 communications we mentioned earlier), can inevitably create all sorts of mistakes, misinterpretations or errors. So, companies realized that this communication process caused more problems than the issues it has initially set out to solve.

No wonder that EverythingSupplyChain.com wrote that “If supply chain had an arch enemy it would be called “Bad Communication.”

Did you know that logistics is placed at the core of worldwide trade? Let’s have a quick look at some numbers:

• 17 million see freight containers
• More than 1 million air freight containers
• All these resources and assets lead to 5 billion shipments per year

How else do you think that all our online shopping could be done? A quick research on the volumes recorded at Amazon, for example, will reveal how enormous this industry has become.

So, in order to be competitive, logistics and has to be cost driven, efficient and solve these issues related to the processes involved (communication, security, speed, etc).

Smartcontainers - a new way to use the blockchain to disrupt the logistics industry
Founded in Switzerland, Smartcontainers set out to combine hardware and software to transform the way transportation (through containers) is made all across the world.
Smart contracts, an important feature created by the blockchain, are considered to be one of the best solutions available at the moment to decentralize the logistics industry and make it more efficient than ever. Currently, logistics is a key central process and it’s handled centrally - that is why Smartcontainers is trying to do this shift: from a central problem to a decentralized solution.

“Our vision is to create a fully autonomous, integrated container based on blockchain technology“ stated Nico Ros – CTO & Co-Founder of SmartContainers .

Moreover, in this ecosystem, a set of other new paradigms is installed:

• place more features and processes on the containers. For example, allow the containers themselves to actually do the invoicing.
• permit more accurate tracking (through the Blockchain technology).
• automatically generate the autonomous shipping parcel.
• use of integrated IoT (internet of things) sensors

Learn all about this bold project at https://smartcontainers.ch and download the latest version of the whitepaper at https://smartcontainers.ch/assets/20180208_smartcontainers_whitepaper_v1.pdf.

(1) https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/logistics