Penske Logistics has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) as a corporate member. BiTA is a new organization formed less than a year ago and it provides a forum to promote and educate, while encouraging the development of blockchain applications, within the transportation industry.

According to Harvard Business Review, "blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically."

“We’ve joined BiTA to take part in better understanding the benefits of blockchain for our customers and to be a part of crafting the standard framework in the development and implementation of blockchain technology,” stated Andy Moses, Penske Logistics senior vice president of global products.

Penske Logistics sees potential blockchain benefits for its customers operating in the manufacturing, food, beverage sectors as well as other industries.

Benefits may be achieved by further digitizing and securing supply chain and logistics processes, improving order accuracy, as well as tracking physical assets like vehicles, trailers, trucks, or containers and securing freight bill pay and audit transactions across Penske’s extensive freight brokerage and dedicated carriage operations.

Penske Logistics has plans to run a blockchain pilot later this year.

According to the recent 2018 Third-Party Logistics Study, 30 percent of 3PLs and 16 percent of shippers surveyed see blockchain as a potential application, yet most have yet to engage with the technology. The study also describes anticipated benefits including improved supply chain visibility and potential challenges that participants will face in implementing blockchain.

The study is published by Infosys Consulting, Penske Logistics, Korn Ferry and Penn State Smeal College of Business. The study is accessible at no cost by visiting www.3PLStudy.com.

By "Move Ahead" Staff