IBM teams up with container shipping firm on new industry platform

The firms want to boost efficiency across the shipping industry

American tech firm IBM has formed a partnership with container shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk in a bid to create a new industry trading platform.

According to a Reuters report, the companies are looking to improve efficiencies in the shipping industry and help companies save billions of dollars.

The global shipping industry is not known for its readiness to adopt new technology, and bureaucratic processes in different countries can slow down trade.

To help solve the problem, IBM and Maersk are looking to build a platform that utilises blockchain technology to allow companies to share important data across a network of computers.

The platform, which is expected to roll out in mid-2018, is aimed at shippers, ocean carriers, freight forwarders and custom authorities. It'll become an official communications channel.

IBM and Maersk explained that the platform will help companies distribute and track their containers as they travel across the world, digitising archaic supply-chain processes.

Currently, shipments from Africa to Europe must pass through 30 people and organisations - while there are 200 different forms of communication.

And bureaucratic systems can add to an already expensive and timely process, explained Maersk. By working with IBM, the shipping firm wants to streamline the industry.

Vincent Clerc, chief commercial officer at Maersk, said: "The big thing that is missing from this industry to digitize and unleash the potential of the technology is really to create a form of utility that brings standards across the entire ecosystem.

"There is a strong push from the end-customer to see this change. We may meet initial resistance from one part of the ecosystem. The success of the platform depends on acceptance of all participants."

Clerc said authorities across the United States, China, Singapore and the Netherlands have expressed an interest in the platform, as well as multiple shipping companies.

Michael J White, who previously led Maersk Line's operations in North America, will head up the joint venture. The company has seen a lot of change in the past few years, having cut ties with its energy business last year.