German Logistics Firms to Automate 75 Million Freight Processes Through Blockchain

German Logistics companies are jointly working to create a mega blockchain project that will digitize their processes and save resources, according to the report it by German local news outlet, Tiroler Tageszeitung.

The project will be managed by the consulting firm, Ernst & Young (EY), while famous LKW Walter, GS1 Austria and its subsidiary EDITEL Austria, Bundesvereinigung Logistik Österreich, Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Schenker, and WU Vienna will be participating in the initiative.

The blockchain project will automate around 75 million processes every year, which can also save about 12 million sheets of paper annually.

Seeking to digitize the freight processes and documents using the blockchain system will modify the entire industry, leading to the effective management of time and resources as well as cost reduction.

In a broadcast, the head of the German-speaking EY Blockchain Competence Center, Michael Schramm made comments on the development, saying that:

Blockchain holds enormous potential for all industries, especially those with many standardized processes such as transport and logistics – if you use the technology properly.

The project will create more transparency in the industry and help to combat counterfeits. It will, however, be implemented in compliance with the international standard for the electronic consignment note “e-CMR.”

All the participating firms are quite optimistic about the project just as the CEO of DB Schenker, Alexander Winter, rightly noted that “we do not just want to react to trends, but also actively participate in the process and set new standards.”

Analysis and pilot phase for the project will begin this year, according to the report. This will last until the end of the year. Following the pilot phase, the project will reportedly usher in a “commercial platform” in 2020, according to EY.

In another report, two world’s leading maritime shipping firms, Ocean Network Express, and Hapag-Lloyd recently joined a blockchain platform for seaborne cargo managed by TradeLens.