Going head to head with Google is foolhardy. Is the same true with IBM in blockchain logistics? Everyone says that you shouldn’t talk about your biggest competitor, but given that if you tap blockchain logistics into Google and IBM’s name comes up top it’s fair to say that most people know that IBM has something to do with blockchain logistics. Specifically Tradelens.
In some ways, LogChain is built off IBM blockchain logistics. We use Hyperledger Fabric which has had substantial contributions from IBM amongst others. The real difference is less one of technology and more one of domain knowledge.
IBM, bless its soul is staffed with technologists. At the heart of LogChain are logisticians. (That’s why the LOG at the beginning of LogChain). That makes a huge difference.
Our job is to deliver the 7 R’s of logistics it isn’t to build technology. Building a software solution that helps companies nail every single one of those 7 R’s (Product, Quantity, Condition, Place, Time, Customer & Price) is what is going to make us grow. Technology however clever, that doesn’t solve those problems does not.
What’s Wrong with IBM’s Blockchain Logistics
IBM blockchain logistics has had a lot of bad press.
- Why IBM and the Maersk Group venture was doomed to fail. Our takeaways and the state of B2B blockchain adoption.
- How Maersk’s Bad Business Model Is Breaking Its Blockchain
- IBM Blockchain Is a Shell of Its Former Self After Revenue Misses, Job Cuts: Sources
Reading these articles it seems that the way the IBM logistics blockchain was implemented in its Maersk joint venture didn’t focus on the two key aspects of blockchain technology. Creating Trust and increasing Interoperability. Failure was this driven by a business model that misaligned incentives and few of the benefits of blockchain logistics could be realised.
We’ve taken a different approach.
Neutral and Independent Logistics
The LogChain goal is to be a neutral independent player that enables supply chain networks to become more efficient. LogChain unlocks supply chain efficiency in the same way that a new motorway unlocks traffic on a constricted highway.
(It’s the Penang Bridge. Boring to drive over and a nightmare if the organisers run out of water when you are running a marathon!)
So when you use LogChain the immediate benefit is that you are able to shift your product far more easily than before. Because your competitors don’t and will never own the platform you are able to expand with confidence.
As more stakeholders in your supply network join ALL of you get more benefits; these don’t just accrue to the most powerful players in the chain. Instead they are available to everyone equally with the desire to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of what they do.
This is the core premise of LogChain blockchain logistics. It’s fair, it’s neutral, it’s open. For sure there is a lot of technological wizardry behind what you see, but it’s all aimed at delivering fairness into the supply chain, not distorting it.
So when people ask us, what about Tradelens? We remind them of what it’s like to sell on Amazon. If you find a niche and do well, Amazon has all your data and is soon selling what you do. Better. Not a nice place to be.
If you’d like to read more about transparency in trade lanes, you can download our whitepaper here. Alternatively, give us a ping and book a LogChain demo.
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