[240517.EN.BIZ] IBM Research Chief: Blockchains Could Save World Shipping Billions

BLOCKCHAIN technology is poised to recover billions of dollars lost in the shipping industry, says IBM research director Arvind Krishna.

Mr Krishna argued this point during a presentation at CoinDesk's Consensus 2017 conference in New York, according to a press release from conference organisers, the promoters of the Bitcoin quasi-currency.

Among other projects, Mr Krishna described a partnership with Maersk, which he says will cut costs by streamlining the checks that shipping companies are required to go through as they transport goods across international borders.

A typical shipment, according to Mr Krishna, must pass the scrutiny of about 30 organisations during its circuitous journey to the market. Every hold up in this process subtracts dollars off the profitability of the product, he said.

"A single piece of paper, if it's missing when it arrives in Rotterdam, means that a container full of avocados just sits there. A few days extra of sitting there and you've got to throw out the whole container because you've crossed the limit of how long those goods can sit there without being considered spoiled," he said.

Blockchains, he said, are an ideal platform for aggregating and transmitting the certifications required at each step along the way and could shave 20 per cent of the cost from international shipping.

"We believe that just doing this kind of digitisation can result in tens of billions of dollars saved across that network," he said.

The struggle, he said, will be to craft blockchain applications in a way that is intuitive to people outside the enthusiast bubble. "Increasing usability will be key," he argued.

Source : HKSG.