CSX gets on board with TradeLens, with a focus on supply chain visibility

Earlier this month, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railroad carrier CSX said it is the first North American railroad carrier to get on board with TradeLens, a collaboration between IBM and Maersk focused on providing shippers with augmented supply chain transparency and visibility for shipment status.

CSX officials said that through the usage of secure blockchain technology, TradeLens “overcomes data processing siloes,” to support supply chain collaboration and also to provide shippers with timely updates as well. They described TradeLens as an open, neutral platform that currently includes data on half of the world’s ocean container cargo and continues to grow rapidly, and they added that as the first North American Class I railroad to utilize TradeLens, CSX is highly focused on its commitment to greater transparency that enables shippers to better efficiently manage their supply chains.

Using secure blockchain technology, TradeLens overcomes data processing siloes to support collaboration across the supply chain and provide customers with timely updates. Developed by IBM and Maersk, TradeLens is an open, neutral platform that currently includes data on half of the world’s ocean container cargo and continues to grow rapidly. By leading North American railroads onto the platform, CSX is said it is furthering its commitment to greater transparency that enables shippers to manage their supply chains more efficiently.

“Joining TradeLens is a further demonstration of our commitment to providing customers with broader visibility and increasing our value as a provider of comprehensive supply chain solutions,” said Mark Wallace, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing, in a statement. “Railroads are vital links in the global supply chain, and CSX wants to support all of the ways our customers are seeking greater efficiency and flexibility. As our customers move onto TradeLens, we’ll be helping provide them with better end-to-end shipment tracking capability.”

With a focus on providing more efficient and secure methods for conducting global trade through the usage of blockchain technology, A.P. Moller-Maersk and IBM rolled out plans in January 2018 for the TradeLens joint venture.IBM and Maersk said that the objective of this JV was to provide a jointly developed global trade digitization platform that is built on open standards and designed for use by the entire global shipping ecosystem, adding that it will address the need to provide more transparency and simplicity in the movement of goods across borders and trading zones.

The blockchain relationship between Maersk and IBM dates back to June 2016, when they initially teamed up to build new blockchain- and cloud-based technologies, which have subsequently been piloted by various concerns, including DuPont, Dow Chemical, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among others.