Nine ocean carriers and terminal operators plan to create a new blockchain-based platform for the global shipping industry supply chain. Called the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), this open digital platform aims to connect stakeholders throughout the industry, improving transparency.
Ocean carriers CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping Lines, Evergreen Marine, OOCL, and Yang Ming along with terminal operators DP World, Hutchison Ports, PSA International, and Shanghai International Port are collaborating with software company CargoSmart on the platform.
The shipping industry executives met with CargoSmart in Shanghai this week, and formalized their plans to establish a consortium that will develop the GSBN. Blockchain technology enables the secure transmission of data through a public digital ledger. In recent years, companies in a number of different industries have looked to blockchain for improving supply chain transparency and sustainability.
In the container shipping industry, disparate processes take place across physical and digital domains, the new consortium members say. This can result in siloed shipment management procedures and disruptive information gaps. To address these challenges, the consortium intends to offer a forum for exploring cross-industry opportunities as well as standards for sharing shipping documents and data seamlessly.
The Global Shipping Business Network platform is expected to connect carriers, terminal operators, customs agencies, shippers, logistics service providers, and other stakeholders in the ocean shipping supply chain.
GSBN advantages, according to the consortium members, include increasing the speed of data integration, improved business performance, better transparency, instant validation, and a digital baseline for standards.
The first planned application of GSBN will allow shippers to digitize and organize their dangerous goods documents and automatically connect with relevant parties to streamline the approval process, the consortium members say. They scheduled the application to become available in December.
“The GSBN blockchain consortium has the potential to enable faster, more accurate processing of cargo information and more transparency of terminal operations to cargo owners,” said Yan Jun, president of Shanghai International Port.
As Supply Chain Dive’s Emma Cosgrove points out, GSBN is the latest in a series of ocean shipping industry blockchain initiatives. “Though all of these platforms purport to be headed toward open-source collaboration, ownership seems to be a significant factor in getting competitors to sign up together,” she wrote. “With five carriers, the GSBN may have a better shot at moving forward in a meaningful way.”
