Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/925196
24 | Overdrive | January 2018 THE COMING OF BLOCKCHAIN is tendered instantaneously, rather than having go through a factoring company or the receivables department." Tech-enabled brokers are doing some form of this today with traditional online infrastructures, but Burruss and others believe blockchain enhances security and opens up more custom contract possibilities with individual shippers for specific carriers. Future freight systems could drive out more inefficiencies that result from having multiple third parties involved, building greater income poten- tial for carriers and savings for shippers. An uncertain future for factors and brokers There's fear among some freight- transaction third parties, from brokers to factoring companies and others, that blockchain will eliminate the need for them, Burruss says. "I don't think that's necessarily true. What I think is true is that individuals resistant to technology in general will find themselves out of the equation." Blockchain's enabling of more speedy payments may drive out the need for today's core function of factoring com- panies. Burruss says their role could shift toward handling escrowing functions for shippers and carriers and their drivers, or perhaps something else. Jerry Wallace, chief technology officer for Apex Capital, one of the factoring companies that have joined BiTA, says the sky's the limit when it comes to block- chain uses. "Anything from maintenance records" following a truck's signature identifiers throughout its life, readily accessible to future potential buyers, to aggregation of all the information associ- ated with a driver's history to a piece of freight's movement history down to "the consumer level – how the goods might be stocked on the shelf." Wallace says he wouldn't mind seeing further third-party disruption in the bro- ker's space. The "more successful small carriers are, the better things are for us. … The 20 percent margin for the broker – hopefully those margins will come over to the carrier." A better tool to document and fight detention abuse Burruss sees location data as ripe for blockchain treatment, both for backward- looking and real-time tracking purposes. Cellular and telematics tracking of loca- tion data is nothing new, but blockchain systems could do a better job of allowing such data to be harnessed for automating detention-pay contracts and helping driv- ers and shippers/receivers work within available hours. Existing technology makes it possible to define a geofenced location within anoth- er geofenced location. Using geofencing and sensor-produced shared data could add sophistication to pricing schemes in smart contracts. For example, when a driver crosses the receiver's first geofence boundary, it triggers an update for the receiver, which could include the driver's available hours if he's using an electronic log, and shar- ing of information about docks with the Using geofencing and other location data, a blockchain system might document detention time with a high degree of accuracy. If the system is part of a "smart contract," a driver would receive detention pay quickly. How familiar are you with 'blockchain' network information technology? No idea, sounds like it could be a torture device 62% Very familiar 3% Somewhat familiar 9% Generally unfamiliar 14% I've heard the term 12% OverdriveOnline.com poll Max Heine