AirAsia launches transparent tracking blockchain network 'Freightchain' for air cargo:
AirAsia Group Bhd's logistics arm Teleport announced Thursday the launch of Freightchain, a digital network for transparently confirming and tracking air cargo based on distributed ledger blockchain technology.
Shippers and freight forwarders can now book and confirm any of AirAsia's 247 aircraft to carry cargo using Freightchain without the need for time-consuming go-betweens, sales and email channels. The system seamlessly tracks bids, transparently tracks sales and automatically reveals linked network chains for freight delivery.
Using Freightchain shippers will be able to discover all available cargo network connections owned by airlines in a manner that gives them transparency into how their cargo will get from point A to point B. The system will also facilitate on-demand bookings in real-time using a bidding process that is then validated on the blockchain.
"We deliberately launched Freightchain during this period of uncertainty within global supply chains, caused by the coronavirus pandemic," Freightchain Chief Technology Officer, Vishal Batra said. "Agile software platforms like Freightchain help to connect uneven supply and demand amidst a rapidly evolving environment. Trust and transparency are needed now more than ever."
Freightchain provides global air cargo connectivity with no agency fees, smart on-demand digital interlinks for booking cargo space and improved cargo capacity utilization. By putting all cargo passing through its system onto the blockchain, every node in the network is aware of the current real-time status of the entire network, meaning that cargo bidders can rapidly know where shipments can be stowed and where they will go.
[...] According to Teleport, Freightchain can simplify the booking process by allowing for confirmation to happen 10 times faster than traditional methods by providing programmatic discovery of routes using data from its blockchain network.
[...] With Freightchain, the connections data, contacts and contracts all exist within the blockchain, making it simple to identify the links, book the flights and confirm an itinerary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2020, @01:31PM (4 children)
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2020, @01:38PM
Because announcing a service based on blockchain makes your share price go up, duh.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Tuesday April 21 2020, @01:41PM
If it doesn't cost your customers an enormous amount of time and resources to interact with you, can you even still call yourself an airline anymore?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday April 21 2020, @01:59PM (1 child)
In theory, not a all - they are the same.
In practice (if best practices are used) the blockchain based solution puts the database "out there" in a way that the database owner is unable to refute or modify after the fact.
In actual practice, yeah what AC said: buzzwords in your quarterly report are good for the share price. Best practices may or may not be used (I don't have time to audit them, do you? Neither do most, likely all, of their business partners.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2020, @12:36AM
Best practices are, and must be, used, because they are built into the system (the blockchain). There is no way to *not* use them.
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/ [blockgeeks.com]