Persuaded that block-chain is really on the verge of altering the package delivery company, FedEx Corp. is analyzing the tech to monitor substantial, higher-value freight.
“We’re quite confident that it has big, big implications in supply chain, transportation and logistics,” Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith said at a blockchain conference in New York on Monday. “It’s the next frontier that’s going to completely change worldwide supply chains.”
Blockchain technology uses code to file just about every portion of the shipping and delivery on a lasting, electronic ledger, supplying transparency. The ledger cannot be altered unless everyone involved agrees, reducing disputes that may arise due to problems like time-stamps, payments, invoices, and damages.
Fed-ex’s curiosity about blockchain and also the Internet of Things are a part of their plan to enhance customer support and fight off competition, Smith explained. FedEx is working together with a firm known as the Blockchain in Transport Alliance which wants to establish industry criteria with the tech from transportation.
Blockchain has the capacity to reduce costs, speed up processes, and help free up operating capital, according to BTA.
In addition to Blockchain usage, FedEx is also experimenting in tiny bluetooth tracking sensors called “Tron.” Chief Information Officer Robert Carter said at the conference that FedEx currently has more patents on Tron than any other technology invented in the company’s history.
On May 9, FedEx will also help test delivery drones at the Memphis International Airport.
