CCJ

February 2018

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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34 commercial carrier journal | february 2018 Blockchain brouhaha Will it extend or disrupt your business? B lockchain is the latest buzzword in transportation and logistics. But how and when this "digital ledger" technology will make an impact remains to be seen. For carriers, perhaps its most anticipated benefit is to create smart contracts with their customers to have self-exe- cuting freight transactions. Blockchain will record the transac- tions and store their data across many computers in a peer-to- peer network, said Jason Kerner, vice president of project44, a developer of connectivity platforms for shippers and carriers. The different blocks of information that can be included in a smart contract include order details, shipment status updates, proof of delivery and accessorial charges such as detention. Companies will use an application programming interface to transfer information to a blockchain. "The potential is clearly there, and although the industry isn't completely certain how it will implement a technology like blockchain, it makes sense to start preparing for it," said Kerner, who recommends that carriers start now by having a "modern technology infrastructure" that can transfer consistent normal- ized real-time data to a third party. Self-fulfilling contract TMW Systems started laying the groundwork for smart con- tracts one year ago by releasing its Engage.Bid product that carriers use to manage pricing and bidding activities with shippers. Tim Leonard, TMW's chief information officer, saw an opportunity to use blockchain to integrate the Engage.Bid application with a tool from 10-4 Systems that shippers use to automate requests for pricing. TMW acquired 10-4 Systems last September. The Trimble Freight Cloud now is embedded in Engage.Bid for carriers and shippers to create smart contracts by choosing and negotiating data they wish to exchange in freight transac- tions. A blockchain can send shippers auto- matic notifications as a shipment progresses and recognize when a carrier delivers a load to trigger funds in escrow for payment. "If you do not have the data in a place where you understand it and can steward and manage it, (blockchain) won't last," Leonard says. Not quite ready? To be ready for prime time, blockchain technology has to clear the same hurdles that other protocols such as electronic data interchange and APIs already have overcome to exchange infor- mation between disparate systems in a network. As such, blockchain will not be replacing existing technolo- gies anytime soon, said Cindi Hane, vice president of logistics product management for Elemica, which provides a business network tailored for supply chains in the manufacturing and chemical industries. Blockchain will be another layer of tech- nologies that fleets and shippers already have in place, she said. Ongoing challenges of managing the network include ensur- ing that data is consistent for all parties and maintaining data quality, Hane said. Carriers and shippers will have to negotiate the meaning of data for a smart contract to work. "Blockchain is not going to fix the data interpretation problem," she said. MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF technology AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call 385-225-9472. INTERESTED IN TRUCKING TECHNOLOGY? Scan the barcode or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail newsletter. DIGITAL LEDGER: How and when blockchain will make an impact remains to be seen. SMART CONTRACTS: Carri- ers and shippers can negotiate self-executing transactions. FULL VISIBILITY: Data can be stored across many computers in a peer-to-peer network.

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