The logistics giant will close the platform, which has failed to reach commercial viability in the four years since its inception
Maersk, the world leader in container transportation, and the IT corporation IBM have announced the termination of their TradeLens blockchain platform. While the developed platform is viable, the need for full global industry collaboration has not been met, the report said. Maersk will continue to digitize logistics and support industry innovation with other solutions.
One of the most famous blockchain projects in the world, the TradeLens platform was jointly developed by Maersk and IBM in 2018 and is supported by large transport companies that account for more than 60% of the world’s container traffic. It made it possible to introduce digitized documentation flows into global supply chains, which simplified the clearance of goods.
TradeLens clients include many ports and terminals around the world, as well as customs authorities in Singapore, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
“TradeLens was founded on the bold vision to make a leap in global supply chain digitization as an open and neutral industry platform,” said Rotem Hershko, Head of Business Platforms at A.P. Moller – Maersk. “Unfortunately, while we successfully developed a viable platform, the need for full global industry collaboration has not been achieved. As a result, TradeLens has not reached the level of commercial viability necessary to continue work and meet the financial expectations as an independent business.”
The TradeLens team will begin the shutdown of the platform November 29, and the process should be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2023. During this process, all parties involved will ensure customer service without disruption to their business, the statement said.