Shipwaves, an industry-leading digital freight forwarder has joined Maersk-IBM developed TradeLens platform. The association between the front-running blockchain-powered supply chain solution and digital forwarder is aimed at accelerating the digitization of the ocean logistics space, especially in India and the Middle-East.
Having recently allowed shipping bills of lading to be filed over a blockchain platform, India has been betting big on blockchain-enabled solutions to digitize its maritime supply chains. The TradeLens blockchain solution provides controlled, permissioned access to secure and immutable transportation documents while bringing together stakeholders such as shipping carriers, ports, customs offices, and other players in the ecosystem through its platform.
Through this linkage, Shipwaves will be able to provide timely end-to-end supply chain visibility, secured sharing of digital shipping documents, and data directly from partners. This will enable the forwarder to improve efficiency and decrease operational costs by a significant margin. Additionally, the smart contract-based workflows will automate and digitize multi-party interactions, which will result in improved efficiency.
According to David Ombewa Ocholi, Product Manager for West Central Asia and Africa, “TradeLens is an industry-wide neutral platform aiming to spur innovation in the complex logistics industry. We aim to build a digital ecosystem that will drive benefits for all on the platform. With Shipwaves collaborating with TradeLens, we have an important supply chain enabler furthering our joint desire of removing manual tasks and enabling digitized workflows in the logistics industry.”
Commenting on the association, Sajid Mohammed, COO – Shipwaves, said, “Our working with TradeLens marks a significant milestone which will enable us to digitize our customers’ operations and lead them into the blockchain era of global trade. While we were one of the early innovators in the digital freight forwarding space, the ongoing pandemic taught us that, this alone is not enough. One also needs collaboration to enhance competence and expand capabilities. Our SaaS products helped us gain deep insights into the inner universe of clients’ IT systems, how they interact with their logistics teams and stakeholders. We believe that the TradeLens platform will truly elevate our value proposition, allowing us to interconnect with shippers, carriers & other stakeholders. The best part is that all this will be done using the innovative technology that ensures security, trust, and transparency.”
Enabling freight forwarders with data direct from the source to enhance their offering to their clients is a key tenet of TradeLens. Having directly connected with over 160 entities ranging from ocean carriers, ports, shippers, inland providers, and more, the granularity of data offered includes over 120 supply chain events including transportation plans, estimated and actual events. Leveraging this in-depth data to bolster steadfast digitization, the development is set to unlock the next phase of growth in the ocean logistics ecosystem.