Nine companies sign up for blockchain network

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Major industry players, including CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping Lines, COSCO Shipping Ports, Hapaq-Lloyd, Hutchison Ports, OOCL, Port of Qingdao, PSA International and the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), signed an agreement indicating their intention to become shareholders of the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN).

The signing confirms the consortium's governance structure and nature of the business. The GSBN will be established as a not-for-profit organization that operates and facilitates a secure and trusted data exchange platform for stakeholders along the supply chain, including global carriers and terminal operators. CargoSmart Limited will provide the necessary technology solutions and operate the platform.

Martin Gnass, Managing Director IT, Hapag-Lloyd, said, "The signed shareholders' agreement symbolizes an important milestone towards securing an industry-wide secured digital collaboration platform that aims to benefit all parties in the global supply chain. We expect the trusted blockchain platform will accelerate the sharing of verified logistics and cargo data, streamline business operations across the whole supply chain, and create value to each stakeholder."

Ding Songbing, Manager of Strategy & Research Department of SIPG, added, "Existing data exchange and practices in the shipping industry do not adequately address all terminal operational details, leading to missed opportunities to improve overall efficiency. With terminal operators being founding members of the blockchain platform, we believe the GSBN will capitalize on new and existing opportunities on the terminal side and expedite digital transformation in the industry."

In preparation for the establishment of the GSBN, CargoSmart has conducted a number of proof-of-concepts (PoC) to validate opportunities to generate value for the participants in the GSBN. One example is the PoC with eTradeConnect, the trade finance blockchain consortium facilitated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

The PoC proved the benefits of the network, demonstrating how GBSN's combination of carriers and terminal operators can provide a more balanced perspective, bringing up new ideas to transform the industry by going beyond the conventional carrier-centric business model.