An article about Shipchain - Finally a blockchain solution for the Global Logistical Supply Chain!

Blockchain technology is set to change the world. Bitcoin is just the proof of concept - everyday new coins are being developed that have the potential to change our lives with their revolutionary use-cases.

The future is now!

I have been invited by one such coin, ShipChain, to write an article about the future of shipping and logistics with their new blockchain technology.

_{Follow @originalworks for more opportunities like this!}

Currently our world is interconnected by shipping and logistics. This is a fact, but don't expect to jump into import/export without a lot of study. This is one of the most complicated regimens in the entire world, simultaneously including all governments and the high seas' no man's land; both harsh scrutiny and complete oblivion; tender love and care and total disregard.

In fact, this sector is so big that it is larger and more unwieldy than all but three government entities: US, EU and China¹; and its growing faster than any of them! Check some of the stats below, we are talking about enormous amounts, both in weight and in value.

_{Each of those billion tonnes is a 2.2 trillion pounds}

And why is this industry so important and expensive? So regulated and monitored?

In the current economic system, this is the sector that makes possible our prosperity! Of course, one may think that our prosperity comes from what we produce, and that is partly true. But even if we produce something that doesn't need to be shipped to a customer (like blogs or ebooks, for example), what would we do with our income without the global shipping industry?

Supply Chain

Our modern level of prosperity comes precisely from our interconnectedness. According to the Law of Comparative Advantage, usually attributed (probably incorrectly³) to David Ricardo, our prosperity is maximized when we specialize in what we are best at and then engage in trade². This law has rapidly led to the system we have today, with vast quantities of goods being shipped around the globe, and vast quantities of bureaucratic paperwork being levied on each transaction.

ShipChain proposes to modernize this aspect. Using some innovative advancements on blockchain technology, this new token will keep track, in a decentralized and trustless fashion, of the history and reliability of each of the multiple actors required to make the global logistics chain possible. Their whitepaper is a fascinating read, full of great ideas, and can be found here.

_{I ship my products around the world}

As someone who has been learning about the international logistical supply chain, I find ShipChain very interesting. I work together with a community that has only begun to link into the prosperity achievable through international shipping; our small town celebrated its first container of avacadoes successfully exported to the US in late 2017.

Rural, developing-world agricultural communities, like mine, will need to continue to find a way to participate in international markets if we are going to hope to improve our standard of living. We produce a multitude of tropical, agricultural products that are highly valued around the world, but without shipping and logistics, and more importantly someone who can understand and manage these things, we end up eating all of our gulupas and uchuvas, and our potential profits along with them.

I will be keeping a close eye on ShipChain to see how this revolutionary change in such an important industry can be applied locally, and nationally. There is no official video, but this guy reviews the information on the website pretty well, so check out the following video if you are interested:

_{Reviewing the Information}

Thank you all for reading and remember: The Future is Bright; Love and Light!

References:

(1): Wikipedia.org
(2): Investopedia.com
(3): Mises Institute

shipchain2018