Thailand Integrates IBM’s TradeLens To Streamline Shipment Tracking

A blockchain logistics project by IBM and Maersk is being utilized by Thailand to improve its shipment tracking procedures, Cointelegraph reported on Friday (Aug. 30).

Thailand’s Customs Department is implementing IBM’s Tradelens blockchain as an improved solution to keeping on top of shipping that happens in Thai ports.

IBM’s TradeLens, a partnership with transport giant Moller-Maerska, is a blockchain logistics system that will digitize shipping processes that were down on paper.

Adoption of the blockchain is part of Thailand 4.0, an effort to modernize and improve life in Thailand. More than 90 different companies have joined TradeLens since its launch.

TradeLens provides blockchain-based solutions for the logistics industry by offering a tamper-proof tracking tool for effective organization of workflow systems, Patama Chantaruck, vice president for Indochina expansion and managing director of IBM Thailand, told the news outlet.

This new system will result in a reduction in paperwork, enhanced transparency and increased cost savings with lesser delays and information leaks, Chantaruck added.

TradeLens offers instant capture and sharing. As soon as a loaded vessel departs from the port of origin, TradeLens will immediately enable the transfer of shipping data. Customs officials in Thailand will receive notifications when shipping containers leave their ports of origin, allowing them to better prepare for arrival.

After tech giant IBM and Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk joined forces to offer a blockchain-based shipping solution, other shipping firms joined the consortium. Additional firms include CMA CGM and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, with the consortium making up half of the cargo sent globally.

The move toward logistics handled across blockchain seeks to move away from manual and paper-based processes, where tracking items from source to dock is less than efficient. As widely reported, blockchain provides an immutable record of goods as they move across supply chains, where parties agree to, and complete, contract terms — and data is encrypted.