Shipping Majors Join CargoSmart Digital Initiative

The provider of software-as-a-service based shipping and logistics solutions, CargoSmart has announced the official execution of the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) Services Agreement with shipping majors.

According to a statement from the shipment management software company, CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, COSCO Shipping Ports (CSP), Hapag-Lloyd, Hutchison Ports, OOCL, Port of Qingdao, PSA International and Shanghai International Port Group have signed up with it.

As per the agreement, each signatory commits to provide resources to support preparatory work required to establish the GSBN, a not-for-profit joint venture to accelerate the digital transformation of the shipping industry.

The preparatory work includes obtaining all necessary regulatory, competition and antitrust approvals required for the establishment of the GSBN. CargoSmart will provide software solutions and services to the GSBN once it is formed.

 Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Executive Vice President – IT & Transformations, CMA CGM Group, said, “In line with our Customer-Centric and Digital First approach, the CMA CGM Group is committed to facilitate increased transparency and to spur innovation with the entire supply chain ecosystem. The GSBN blockchain consortium provides us a concrete opportunity to bring greater value for our customers and the supply chain as a whole.”

And Martin Gnass, Managing Director IT Technology at Hapag-Lloyd added, “We are focused on offering our customers the best choices for their supply chain needs. Once it is established, the GSBN will work, with its JV structure and strong carrier and terminal participation, to increase efficiency in cross-network operation for the benefit of the various stakeholders in our industry.”

Upon its establishment, the GSBN intends to provide a platform for all shipping supply chain participants to work collaboratively to accelerate technology innovation and develop solutions through trusted and secure data exchange platforms.

The signatories firmly believe that the GSBN can unlock underlying value and create exciting new opportunities for all shipping supply chain participants in a more open and transparent way. While the current signatories are shipping lines and terminal operators, it is envisaged that other participants in the shipping industry may wish to join the GSBN or otherwise benefit from the innovative solutions it develops.  

The signatories of the GSBN Services Agreements plan to complete the establishment of the GSBN in early 2020, subject to obtaining all requisite anti-trust, competition and regulatory approvals.

The signatories are open to feedback from the shipping community to enable the GSBN to offer solutions based on market need. In the interim, as part of the process of preparing for the formation of the GSBN, CargoSmart will run pilot applications that test the viability of the GSBN and the potential for the GSBN to offer unprecedented value to all supply chain participants. For example, initial preparatory efforts to explore and test the feasibility and value of using blockchain technologies are underway and showing promise.

“CargoSmart is pleased to support the strong industry commitment, represented by the GSBN Services Agreements, to build a solid foundation for the digitization of the shipping industry and the development of innovative solutions based on distributed ledger technology,” said Steve Siu, Chief Executive Officer of CargoSmart.