ABN Amro, Samsung SDS, Port of Rotterdam announce blockchain collaboration

ABN Amro is working on a container logistics blockchain pilot in partnership with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Samsung SDS.

The aim is to build a platform for efficient and paperless administration processes for the international finance and logistics surrounding container transport. Those involved claim that the result should make it just as easy to transport, track and finance goods and services as it is to order a book online.

Currently payments, administration and the physical transportation of containers still take place almost entirely via separate circuits. The pilot will integrate all those separate flows.

“We will be integrating all these flows in our pilot: from workflow management combined with track and trace to the digitisation of paper documentation such as waybills and the financing of handled freight or services,” says ABN AMRO’s CEO of Commercial Banking Daphne de Kluis.

“The ultimate goal is to reach an open, independent and global platform that operates from the perspective of shippers. This will make the logistics chain more transparent and efficient, and millions of euros can be saved in the long-term.”

Other parties

The pilot involves the multi-modal transport of a container from a factory in Korea to a location in the Netherlands. It will initially be implemented by ABN Amro, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Samsung SDS , although the network will then become open for other parties to join.