Standard Chartered has become the first financial institution to join the TradeLens blockchain-enabled container logisitics platform developed by IBM and Maersk.
Standard Chartered will be the first financial intitution to join an ecosystem consisting of more than 150 members, including 100+ ports and terminals, 20+ ocean carriers and intermodal providers, and 10+ government authorities.
Commercially-available since December 2018, TradeLens captures millions of supply chain events and tens of thousands documents per week, having processed information on over 15 million containers worldwide since its launch.
The platform enables participants to digitally connect, share information and collaborate across the shipping supply chain ecosystem, replacing the current cumbersome and error-prone bilateral exchange of documentation.
In joining the coalition, Standard Chartered will be able to instantly validate the authenticity of shipments using TradeLens’ record of real-time data and document exchange amongst the network of entities involved in a shipment.
Aarthi Fernandez, Standard Chartered's global head of trade operations, comments: “The trade ecosystem has complex processes, slow turnaround times, high paper-based manual documentation and limited connectivity between the various parties involved and it remains a major pain point in the centuries-old trade finance industry. The partnership with TradeLens equips Standard Chartered Bank with reliable real time information to validate and protect the integrity of transactions and thus deliver fast and safe service to our clients.”