Aman Pratap SIngh

Q.46.  Course Outcome: CO6          Complexity Level:  Medium           Max.Marks: 7.5

Exact Shipment Location Data by using Blockchain Technology: Most logistics
companies today offer only the location details of main locations like collection centre, city
hubs and sorting facilities. The exact live location details are never known, and if the system
fails, the entire data is lost. Using blockchain, you can implement a system that collects
location data from many interconnected systems and deliver exact location details to the
customers. The application of this project can be extended to other areas like airlines to find
lost baggage, car rentals for tracking rented car etc.

Ans. When you order a parcel from Amazon, you receive an alert letting you know
when your parcel has shipped, and when it will be delivered to your house. You are
then able to track the status of your order via check-point based information. You
can see when your parcel has left the factory, when it is on the road, when it has
arrived in your local delivery depot, etc. Most importantly, you trust that all of these
updates have actually happened in real-time.

Now, imagine if you are a large manufacturer with thousands of parts and

supplies being ordered and delivered from multiple suppliers on a daily basis.

How do you gain a similar level of complete trust in the latest status of every

single update in such a complex supply chain ?

A decentralized public ledger system that documents all changes to a record in

real time, Blockchain can help make logistics companies more efficient via a public
ledger system that records the motions of each shipping container. Armed with that
data, companies can implement faster routes and eliminate unnecessary steps in the
delivery process.
Distributed and decentralized ledgers reduce bottlenecks and clerical errors, as well.
Using smart contracts, retailers no longer need brokerages, lawyers or other
third parties to complete tasks. Smart contracts enable retailers and logistics
companies to enter binding agreements that will immediately dissolve if all agreed-
upon stipulations aren't met. These ledger-based contracts increase transparency and
profits while decreasing delivery time and costly errors.
The logistic field is primed for a technological upgrade, and a distributed ledger is the
next big thing thanks to its transparent recordings, reduced costs and efficient route
information. Coupled with emerging technologies like big data and artificial
intelligence, Blockchain could even increase the global GDP by 5%.

In theory, that is the kind of holy grail that would save such a manufacturer a

considerable amount of time, money and resources.

It is a hugely important challenge for any organisation that relies on large-scale

transport and logistics planning. It’s exactly why we at HERE have been

prototyping an implementation of blockchain technology into the supply chain for

transport and logistics use cases.

Why blockchain?

Our objective is to use blockchain technology  and our tracking solution , utilizing

the combination of the two as a way to independently verify when a specific

event happens in a specific location, in the context of the supply chain.

By combining the latest location intelligence and tracking technologies with

blockchain technology, it’s possible to finally overcome the most frustrating,

intractable problem for transport and logistics companies – not always having

access to completely accurate real-time information about the location of the

package being tracked.

Perhaps the simplest description of a blockchain is that it is a failsafe distributed

ledger system. A digital record of transactions, in which individual records

(blocks) are linked together in a list (a chain) using cryptographic technology.

Of course, many people still associate blockchain with Bitcoin and other

cryptocurrencies. Yet with any application of blockchain methodology in transport

and logistics – just as is the case with Bitcoin in a monetary context – it is the

community which is the authority, validating the transactions. In the context of

supply chain, the community is the group of all companies involved in the

logistics process.

And it is that failsafe mechanism of automated generation of trust in the

transaction that is blockchain.

Adding real-time location to blockchain

Combine this with the latest real-time location and tracking technologies and you

start to develop some truly unique supply chain, transport and logistics solutions

that will finally offer those manufacturers and shipping companies that

aforementioned holy grail: 100% trust in every single update that occurs across

every supply chain.

In combining IoT tracking technologies, real-time location data and blockchain,

you are able to verify that a transaction that you are notified

about really  happened at that specific time in that exact area.

Which, if you are running a large-scale shipping or logistics operation that

involves the movement and monitoring of thousands of packages or assets at

any given time, is a game changer.

Automation of financial transactions

What’s more, once you have 100% certainty on the location and the status of

every single asset within your organisation, it also makes the automation of

financial transactions far easier to achieve.

For example, if I am in a factory and I know that I am waiting for my parts to

arrive, if the shipping company gives me the information that the parts have been

delivered, I would normally automatically generate an invoice. However, if I am

able to see that the exact location of the parts is somewhere else, I would wait

for the parts to arrive (while simultaneously wasting time and resources locating

the not-yet-delivered parts with the shipping company).

Blockchain allows me to make this entire process fully automated, because it

gives you an exact location and guaranteed information that the updates you are

receiving from the shipping company are accurate. By using Smart Contracts

directly within the blockchain, the system can automatically generate an invoice

based on independently verified data. This is a perfect example of a use case of

blockchain methodology done within the context of supply chain.

The system gives the recipient a guaranteed and trusted notification that they

have received their goods (or, for example, that their goods are situated in

container #4526 in transit and are currently scheduled for delivery at the depot in

approximately 39 hours and 12 minutes time), and that they can automatically

generate the necessary invoice on receipt.

Unbeatable fraud detection

Finally, layering our mapping capability and rich location data to a blockchain

record is also an incredible means of fraud detection, as you previously didn’t

know if the delivery updates you were given were in fact accurate.

Blockchain now gives you the possibility to automatically verify the accuracy of

such transactions, because it can match the real location of the object with the

location report from the logistics company.

It’s a simple yet revolutionary concept for manufacturing, transport and logistics

companies: seamless transparency of the location of any object that you are

tracking — at scale.

Scaling the digital supply chain ecosystem

Automating the data generation and gathering phase of the supply chain maximizes benefits for
cargo owners, logistics providers, and all other partaking parties, should they be financial
institutions or customs authorities. This can only be achieved if connected devices and
technologies work hand in hand, with blockchain bringing them all together and verifying the
data.
CMA CGM’s increased order for the Traxens’ sensors brings us a step closer to achieving that
holistic, connected approach, as it shifts from piloting new solutions to embedding them into the
core of its business. These continuing orders of “smart containers” will build the foundation for
greater use of blockchain as well. As these technologies continue to grow and mature, we’ll
quickly see that it isn’t about blockchain emerging victorious by others failing, but rather all
being successful together. The more interconnected the industry becomes, the more value can be
derived from these systems and, ultimately, help build a more sustainable, profitable shipping
sector. 

application:

MODUM
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Blockchain logistics application: Pharma-focused modum offers blockchain-enabled
products that manage the production and shipment of medicines. The company’s
temperature monitors, en route tracking and smart contracts all work to ensure that
medicines arrive safely and on time. Modum raised more than $13 million during its
token sale in late 2017.
SHIPCHAIN
Location: Los Angeles, California
Blockchain logistics application: ShipChain built a blockchain-backed logistics
platform to support the shipping process from end-to-end. The platform allows all
parties on the chain to receive updated information on a container's whereabouts, as
well as estimated arrival times, via encrypted public ledgers. Founded in 2017, the
company has already received more than $30 million in funding.
CHRONICLED
Location: San Francisco, California
Blockchain logistics application: Chronicled combines blockchain with AI and IoT
devices to automate traceability and instantaneously approve financial transactions in
the shipping industry.
Chronicled’s blockchain-enabled IoT devices give logistics companies better insights
into environmental conditions and transfer-of-custody processes. As a result,
businesses can securely and efficiently move their products all over the world.