More evidence that blockchain is here to stay in freight and logistics
Blockchain was recently explored in detail during the New York Supply Chain Meetup (#TNYSCM) event, #TNYSCM18 – Blockchains in Supply Chain in January 2020. Rachel Premack, Senior Transportation Reporter at Business Insider moderated the fireside chat with two industry thought leaders and marketers, Nigel Gopie, Director and Head of Marketing at IBM Blockchain and Zach Tomilson, Head of Marketing at TradeLens. With such big names and voices in the blockchain space at the event, the opportunities for networking and building a better blockchain mousetrap were amazing.
If #TNYSCM18 was anything to go by, rumors about the impending death of blockchain in enterprise supply chains has been debunked. And the recent partnership between ShipChain, the logistics blockchain platform, and KeepTruckin’, is more evidence that blockchain is here to stay in freight and logistics.
ShipChain--the innovative company--is joining with the KeepTruckin App Marketplace to offer a blockchain integration for companies of all sizes. Blockchain integrations with KeepTruckin TMS, Load Board, Vehicle Maintenance, Insurance, and a variety of other third-party applications push the limits of visibility and accountability in fleet management. Clearly, blockchain is quickly becoming the biggest trend across all supply chains and opportunities for improvement.
The State of the ELD Mandate and the Impact of the New Partnership
The ELD mandate continues to reshape the logistics industry. Following a gradual implementation of the ELD since 2017, most motor carriers added ELDs in 2018. The biggest change for the start of 2020 involves AOBRDs that were already in operation prior to the ELD mandate. Those organizations had until December 16, 2019, to make the switch. With 2020 here, all U.S.-based commercial motor vehicles must have ELDs in place to maintain compliance with the regulation, reports TruckingOffice.com.
As a blockchain-based logistics solutions provider, ShipChain is well-versed in the need to guarantee data traceability and accuracy. The partnership gives all KeepTruckin clients an advantage through automated data transfer that eliminates the risk of data loss or failure to maintain compliance. Through collaboration, KeepTruckin’ ELD solution now has added power and capabilities to manage and retain data, which again, holds added value for use in other aspects of fleet management, ranging from shipment tendering through route optimization and maintenance. That narrative was reiterated by John Verdon, KeepTruckin Head of Partnerships:
“At KeepTruckin, our core mission is to help our customers drive their business forward. This integration with ShipChain will help fleets and drivers deliver goods on time and at capacity, increasing their efficiency and business capabilities.”
How Will KeepTruckin Benefit Visibility for Users
The partnership builds on visibility capabilities already in place with KeepTruckin. KeepTruckin has the ELDs in place to track drivers and trucks regardless of fleet size. The five to 5,000 deployment statistic reigns supreme across the KeepTruckin online portfolio, and through this partnership, ShipChain effectively connects to the individual telematics’ data generated by each sensor. As a result, this represents the largest deployment of ShipChain’s blockchain-based platform, Track, and Trace, to date.
“Visibility is crucial, and the ability to gain more visibility integrations and partnerships with companies like KeepTruckin, is necessary to provide our customers trust and insight,” said John Monarch, ShipChain CEO. Now, all KeepTruckin users have access to the vast capabilities of a proven, immutable ledger that will continuously build on a company’s visibility goals. In fact, KeepTruckin built a comprehensive set of features into its ELD, including GPS tracking, IFTA reporting, vehicle diagnostics, and idle time tracking.
Drivers using the KeepTruckin ELD have the added benefits of automatic importing of shipment data into their ShipChain account, and that information can be shared instantaneously across whole supply chains. This amounts to adding the data from 1 million+ drivers, 250,000 trucks, and 50,000 for-hire carriers to the ShipChain platform. Remember, data is power in modern fleet management, and the collaboration is building on that treasure trove.
Drivers currently using a KeepTruckin ELD will be able to automatically import route and shipment data into their ShipChain account and share the shipment data across the supply chain. Tracking data from more than 1,000,000 registered drivers, 250,000 trucks, and 50,000 for-hire carriers can now be pulled into the ShipChain ecosystem and connected to shipments and supply chain movements that span the globe.
KeepTruckin and ShipChain Will Continue to Build New Opportunities to Scale Data and Visibility for Successful Logistics Management
KeepTruckin has more than 60,000 customers across all company sizes, and through integrated fleet management solutions, now powered by blockchain through ShipChain, KeepTruckin stands apart in the industry. The same applies to ShipChain. As KeepTruckin expands its portfolio of assets and capabilities, ShipChain will be there, ready to deploy its system for new users and new opportunities for improvement. Such feats will naturally lead to improvements in safety, the efficiency of operations, improved productivity through better data management, and more.
