IBM has announced that more than 50 ports and terminals from different Latin American countries are working with TradeLens, the blockchain initiative it launched in 2018 with A.P Moeller-Maersk (Maersk) to make it easier to transfer data across the supply chain.
The tech giants say TradeLens’ latest participants include Terminal Zarate, the first private port in Argentina, the Port of Santos, one of the largest hubs in South America and responsible for one-third of Brazil’s commercial exchanges, and Terminal Pacifico Sur Valparaiso, the main container terminal in Chile.
Latin America handles approximately 53 million TEU every year, which is almost 10% of global traffic. The region has become increasingly important to world trade and its maritime sector more efficient.
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Natalia de Greiff, VP Cloud & Cognitive IBM Latin America, emphasized that growth when she spoke about TradeLens’ development.
“Over the last decades the region has experienced a breakthrough in the operation of its ports, increasing operational efficiency by more than 20%,” she said.
“However, we are still far from more advanced countries. We are bringing TradeLens to our region to continue on this path of growth, using IBM Blockchain on IBM Cloud, and thus placing Latin America in the major leagues of world trade.”
Lars O. Nielsen, President of Maersk Latin America and Caribbean, also spoke about the strength of the region and the importance of initiatives such as TradeLens.
“Participation across our entire supply chain ecosystem is demonstrating the true value of the TradeLens digital platform.
“We have a strong foundation to build on for e.g. inland transportation providers, freight forwarders, customs and other government entities to join the ecosystem and explore the benefits of digitizing Latin American trade flows.”
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