Tesla has been involved in a successful blockchain pilot program involving the shipping of parts to its Shanghai factory, one of its scheme partners has announced. CargoSmart Limited announced on Tuesday that the pilot, involving four organisations in total, highlighted the efficiencies that could be brought to the complex world of international logistics by blockchain technology and could pave the way for further integration.
We conducted a pilot with COSCO, SIPG and Tesla for a new application to speed the cargo release process in China https://t.co/c5p1dizry3#cargorelease #GSBN #GlobalShippingBusinessNetwork #blockchain #supplychain pic.twitter.com/lc7cP2TCVS
— CargoSmart (@CargoSmart) April 7, 2020
Blockchain Presents Benefits for “Global Supply Chain”
The pilot project, which took place in December 2019, involved four parties:
- CargoSmart Limited, a shipment management technology solutions provider
- COSCO Shipping Lines, a Shanghai-based shipping route operator and manager
- Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), operator of all the public terminals in the Port of Shanghai
- Tesla, carmaker and clean energy company with a factory in Shanghai
According to the press release announcing the pilot, SIPG and COSCO “streamlined the cargo release process by enabling Tesla to accelerate its cargo pick up procedures on a trusted and secure platform.” Meanwhile, SIPG were able to view waybill data from multiple sources at one single point on the blockchain, “enabling faster preparation of delivery orders for consignees and their shipping agents.”
According to CargoSmart, the pilot was a resounding success:
The successful pilot has proven that the unique collaboration model between ocean carriers and terminal operators is able to create benefits for stakeholders along the global supply chain.
Blockchain Logistics Consortium Planned
The press release also notes that talks to develop a consortium, the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) blockchain consortium, are underway, and that “this application will unleash the full potential of the proposed GSBN platform once it is established”.
CargoSmart hopes to expand trials of its blockchain shipping solutions to other ports and organisations that may benefit from it, further highlighting why blockchain is perfectly suited to streamline the complex and heavily paperwork-reliant industry.
