Port Technology’s Container Terminal Automation Conference (#CTAC2018) has explored how blockchain, a distributed ledger technology, may affect container shipping logistics.
In Session One of CTAC ‘The Industry Today: A Macro Perspective’, Wolfgang Lehmacher from the World Economic Forum (WEF), author of PTI's most popular technical paper in 2017, started the conversation by stating that for blockchain to develop, the industry needed to drive the use of the platform.
He said that the success of companies such as INTTRA, the largest neutral electronic transaction platform in ocean shipping, “shows that there is a need for much more digitalization”.
Lehmacher explained that blockchain needed to gain the support of more stakeholders to advance operations in the sector, and that artificial intelligence, big data and IoT would push its development further.
But a question from an audience member, who expressed doubts about the safety of embracing emerging technologies such as blockchain, prompted Lehmacher to respond.
He said: “In theoretical terms, blockchain is safe. Is it 100% safe? Nothing is 100% safe.
“[Blockchain's] underlying technology might be safe, but the applications working on that platform, on that chain, might not be.”
.@W_Lehmacher @wef is explaining blockchain's potential for the supply chain at #CTAC2018 pic.twitter.com/RuFtZzbJat
— Port Technology (PTI) (@PortTechnology) March 14, 2018
.@W_Lehmacher @wef is explaining blockchain's potential for the supply chain at #CTAC2018 https://t.co/QjK90TrEdl
— Port Technology (PTI) (@PortTechnology) March 14, 2018
