Founder and CEO Fred Smith has restated his commitment to blockchain technology, claiming that the tech has the potential to “revolutionise” the industry.

Speaking yesterday at the 2018 consensus conference in New York, the logistics company chairman said the he sees the technology as a way for the industry behemoth to maintain its competitive edge in an evolving digital landscape.

Drawing on the industry’s main problem, which is the “massive amount of friction” that companies face due to conflicting regulations and standards depending on the jurisdictions, he explained:

"For cross-border shipments, 'trust' is legal requirement for every transaction. What blockchain has is a potential for the first time ever to make the information available for everybody."

The logistics titan sees blockchain as a revolutionary solution to the logistical nightmares that the shipping industry faces in terms of the “chain of custody” – that is – the challenges of knowing and registering each stage in a supply chain and where everything originates.

FedEx CIO Robert Carter, who was also present on the panel, explained that the company will begin by implementing blockchain technology in the freight industry.

He stated: We move easily 12 million shipments a day and that more than doubles during the peak seasons. While we absolutely believe this technology is going to scale, right now it makes sense for us to do this in our freight world.”

Blockchain Logistics

This development comes as no surprise, as FedEx already made clear their intentions in February when they joined the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance (BiTA).

Back in January, FedEx senior IT vice president Kevin Humphries told Freightwaves that blockchain platforms would allow customers to more efficiently track packages, not only while they are under FedEx's control, but also before and after the corporation picks them up.

While FedEx has only outlined a few possible use cases so far, Humphries said he was "hopeful that blockchain will have many use cases."

In fact, one such use case could be simply acknowledging the benefits of transparency in a logistical system, whereby illegal or unethical practices can be easily identified and dealt with – not to mention the high efficiency between vendors who need to know what, when and how at a moment’s notice.

More broadly, however, the logistics sector in general is clearly in the process of joining the blockchain-cryptocurrency bandwagon in a big way. Last month mobile and electronics giant Samsung announced that it was looking into blockchain to improve their global shipping network, and IBM’s blockchain for supply chain initiative boasts partners like the shipping giant Maersk.