Software provider CargoSmart has announced the completion of formal agreements with maritime industry operators CMA CGM, COSCO SHIPPING LINES, COSCO SHIPPING Ports, Hapag-Lloyd, Hutchison Ports, OOCL, Port of Qingdao, PSA International and Shanghai International Port Group to create the blockchain-based Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), first announced in November 2018.
Under these agreements, each signatory has committed to providing resources to support the preparatory work required to establish the GSBN, including obtaining all necessary regulatory, competition and antitrust approvals required for the not-for-profit organisation.
“In line with our Customer Centric and Digital First approach, the CMA CGM Group is committed to facilitate increased transparency and to spur innovation with the entire supply chain ecosystem,” said Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Executive Vice President – IT & Transformations, CMA CGM Group.
“The GSBN blockchain consortium provides us a concrete opportunity to bring greater value for our customers and the supply chain as a whole.”
Upon its establishment, the GSBN intends to provide a platform for shipping supply chain participants to work collaboratively through secure data exchange platforms. While the current signatories are shipping lines and terminal operators, it is envisaged that other participants in the shipping industry may join in the future.
The signatories plan to establish data management and governance frameworks as part of their preparatory efforts that will apply once the GSBN is formed, including the principle that participants should retain control over their data being shared through the network.
“Having an ethos of open architecture and good data governance among supply chain participants will go a long way towards building an Internet of Logistics,” said Ho Ghim Siew, Head of Group Commercial, Strategy and Cargo Solutions, PSA International.
“We believe this greater connectedness will benefit the supply chain and facilitate a more efficient and transparent future for global trade.”
The system is expected to be up and running in early 2020. In the interim, CargoSmart says it will run pilot applications that test the viability of the GSBN and explore the value of using blockchain technologies to share supply chain data.
