Block chains will revolutionize shipping industry

Globalization has brought about the most advanced trade network in history, as well as the largest and fastest ships, robotic ports and huge computer databases to track the movement of goods. However, the trade process still depends on millions of paper documents.
The last legacy of trade in the 19th century is about to disappear. A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S and other container shipping companies have worked with technology companies to upgrade the world's most complex logistics systems.
This will revolutionize World Trade on a scale unprecedented since the adoption of standard-size containers in the 1960s, a change that ushered in the era of globalization. But the magnitude of this task is no less than the tremendous changes that may be brought about. To make progress, dozens of shipping companies and thousands of related agencies around the world, including manufacturers, banks, insurance companies, brokers and port authorities, must develop an agreement to integrate all new systems into a giant platform.
If they succeed, the files that take days to process will eventually be completed in just a few minutes, most of which do not require manual input. Transport costs across continents could fall dramatically, giving new impetus to the transfer of manufacturing or raw materials and goods from overseas.
"This will be the biggest innovation in the industry since container standardization," said Rahul Kapoor, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in Singapore. "It's mainly about greater transparency and efficiency. These container shipping companies are integrating into the outside world and catching up with each other in the field of technology.