NEDO Developing Blockchain System
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in Japan is developing a Blockchain powered data sharing system focused on the trade industry in the country. The agency is working on a mandate passed given by its parent organization, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Digitizing Logistics Data
The NEDO is Japan’s biggest public management organization and is focused on promoting research as well as the deployment of industrial and energy technologies in the country.
This new project that the NEDO is developing is called Development of Infrastructures for Creating New Industrial Models Taking Advantage of IoT. The aim of the project is to establish a complete infrastructure based on Blockchain technology that will digitize as well as improve the logistics data sharing process in the trading supply chain. Entities within the supply chain include the shipping companies, port authorities, brokerage operators as well as the insurance companies.
Currently, the trading and shipping industry’s logistics data sharing process involves reams of paper files or bulky PDF documents, which, according to the agency’s press release, is expensive and takes up tremendous manual work. This is because each document needs to be checked for errors as well as redundant data. And since the verification is being done manually, the level of inaccuracy in data is high.
The NEDO hopes to replace the current process with a digitized system that is more efficient, accurate and cost effective. Through this Blockchain project, a higher degree of transparency and accountability will be introduced into the logistics data processing system.
This project is a joint venture between Japanese NTT Data, one of the biggest information technology companies in the country and the NEDO. NTT also released a press statement, revealing that it was also planning to launch the social implementation of the new Blockchain system in the fiscal year 2019.
Streamlining Global Shipping and Logistics Operations
The Japanese authorities are not the only ones looking at improving their shipping and logistics systems. Earlier this week, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency of the US launched its live test of a Blockchain powered platform that will track shipments. The CBP is one of the biggest law enforcement agencies in the country.
Corporates also looking at streamlining the shipping industry. In March, a consortium of organizations comprising consulting giant Accenture, shipping line APL, freight forwarding company Kuehne + Nagel, beverage making giant InBev as well as customs company from Europe teamed up to test a Blockchain platform for the bill lading process in the shipping industry.
Then, shipping giant Maersk announced in August that it had joined hands with IBM to launch its Blockchain based logistics and shipping platform, TradeLens.