Singapore-based shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) has completed a blockchain-based trial to track and trace cargo movement as part of a collaboration with PSA International and IBM Singapore.
The trial saw cargo transported from Chongqing, China, and Singapore via the Southern Transport Corridor, which is considered a major route in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative.
The test was able to achieve a transparent and reliable multimodal logistics capacity booking, as well as the regulatory-compliant execution of the multimodal logistics capacity booking process.
Real-time tracking and tracing operations were also conducted, while the network’s participants were granted permissioned access control as part of the trial programme.
The test was conducted as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was previously signed between the companies in August last year.
A proof of concept (PoC) exercise was subsequently created and tested on the basis of IBM’s blockchain platform following the signing of the agreement.
PIL managing director Teo Siong Seng said: “We are highly committed to this idea because we as a company believe the wider application of blockchain across the global logistics and shipping businesses will lead to much greater operating efficiencies, security and transparency.
“It is the future for our industry.”
PSA intends to leverage the newly concluded test to support the improvement of physical and digital connectivity, as well as boost efficiencies along the global supply chain.
PIL and its partners intend to widen the scope of the PoC during the next phase by including more participants from different nodes of the supply chain logistics system’s distribution network.
