Maersk—the largest shipping container company in the world—took the bold step of forming a blockchain-enabled platform called TradeLens to transform the shipping industry. However, up until now, only a single shipper has signed on to use the platform, and it’s my view that few others will join. Although the concept is a natural fit for blockchain, the business model threatens to doom the project.
Maersk and IBM created the joint venture that owns TradeLens (including the platform’s intellectual property), and there’s the rub: Because Maersk is an owner of the joint venture, it will enjoy a benefit not shared by the other participants on the blockchain platform. That is, Maersk will be enriched from the growth of the actual TradeLens platform, while the other participants on the network will not.
Why would Maersks’ competitors want to use a technology platform (and fledgling at that!) that would enrich their biggest competitor?
There are fantastic benefits to be had from a blockchain-enabled shipping platform: cost savings, reduced error, increased profit, etc. However, these benefits can’t outweigh the undeniable reality facing Maersk’s competitors: to join the TradeLens network is to make Maersk more profitable.
Read the full article of Andrea Tinianow on Forbes.
