INTRODUCTION:
There is a new and general problem solving technique/platform in town and that is the Blockchain. It is now a general phenomenon that blockchain technology is more than just Bitcoin. It’s influence spreads across finance, healthcare, media, government and other sectors. Bitcoin was the first trial at maintaining a decentralized, public ledger without any formal control or governance. There have been other platforms similar to this and they are used to solve every typical day to day problems.
Before going further, the necessary terms needed to fully grasp the what I’ll be talking about are “TRADING” “INVESTMENTS” “BLOCKCHAIN” which will be explained in details.
TRADING
Trading is generally known to be the act or process of purchasing, selling, or exchanging goods, services and resources, at either wholesale or retail prices, within or outside a country which is commonly known as : domestic trade and foreign trade. Trading occurs on various kinds of platforms and stages also with the aid of different interface of interaction, there are various forms of trading which includes: bond trading, forex trading, shares trading, physical trading, goods trading etc.
Traders, Entrepreneurs, Countries engage in trading for various reasons which includes:
- To engage in buying and selling for profit.
- To make an exchange of one thing for another.
The list of reasons are endless, so are the goods which are transferred. However there is one major feature that all these different types of trading have in common and that is TRANSPORT or TRANSPORTATION. This is because it is the link between the buyer and the seller. This is what would bring the buyer and goods purchased together and it is also the medium through which the seller would deliver the goods. Transportation is like the backbone of trading after all other major factors have been considered.
Before discussing the latest and most efficient method of transportation, let’s delve into INVESTING a little bit.
INVESTING
Investing can be defined as the act of committing either money in form of capital to a project with the purpose of gaining additional income or profit.
World class investor and one of the richest men alive Warren Buffett defines investing as “… the process of laying out money now to receive more money in the future.” The sole aim of investing is to engage your funds to work in form of capital into one or more types of investment with the hopes of growing your money over time.
Investing is really about 70% smart work and 30% hard work. Most individuals would work hard at their jobs, whether for a company or their own business. People often work long hours, some even work overtime. These requires loads of sacrifice and gradually accumulates fatigue. Taking some of our hard-earned money and investing for our future needs is the best way to make the most of what we earn not savings.
Investing is a way to set aside money while you are busy with life and have that money work for you so that you can fully reap the rewards of your labor in the future. Investing is a means to a happy ending.
TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY ON A GLOBAL SCALE
The transportation industry is globally responsible for moving around; people, animals, and goods from one place to another. It could be either by land, air, or sea. This industry has one of the largest network which includes a wide variety of organizations, such as travel airlines, railways, and cruise lines, municipal transportation companies, freight railways, cargo trucking, and air and express delivery services. These companies may ship within certain regions of the United States or both nationally and internationally.
Over the years, recent developments in the transportation industry has really changed our lifestyle. In the early days, man used horses, donkeys, and other animals to move to different locations and to transport goods. Man-made boats and ships were used to travel along the seas and across oceans for exploration and trade. Most people settled in areas nearest to the coasts because of the difficulty that ensured from road transportation and it was also dangerous at the time. As far back as the 1600s, water transportation was majorly used to ship products to different ports. In the 1800s, railroads were built throughout the United States, which actually resulted in more areas of the country being developed and populated, and even more goods from other parts of the country were delivered to these areas with relative ease. The transportation industry further developed in the 1900s, with the introduction of the automobile and the airplane.
CURRENT STATE OF THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY, IT’S PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES.
Lately, the transportation industry has been facing several challenges, in which many of them are always related to consistent changes in the regulatory environment. The American Transportation Research Institute released a report in October of 2015 which listed the top 10 issues facing the trucking industry. The top three (in order) were Hours of Service Regulations, the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Program, and Driver Shortage.
Embracing the technology challenge and opportunity
Intelligent transport systems are gradually revolutionizing the transport industry globally, and these technologies offer some of the best prospects for improvements in safety, efficiency and environmental outcomes. The Government, and regulators globally, will be challenged to keep up with the pace of technological change and ensure that transport rules and regulations or other barriers are not preventing a new technology or business model from being adopted, or deterring developers from investing in research and development. For example, we have seen a rapid increase in the use of remotely piloted aircraft (or ‘drones’), which are being used for an increasingly diverse range of civilian applications, including aerial photography, search and rescue, and agricultural crop spraying.
INVESTING WISELY TO SUPPORT THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY ECONOMIC GROWTH
Understanding the relationship between transport and economic development, and therefore why and when to invest in transport infrastructure, is a key challenge for the Government. Transport has a critical role in supporting economic growth. As a country, we depend on international aviation and maritime links to connect us to the global marketplace. Alongside that, the Government has a target of growing exports from 30 per cent to 40 per cent of GDP. We need to avoid unnecessary regulatory barriers to international freight and ensure that our policies encourage the smooth operation of our ports.
While investment in transport has historically been a driver for economic growth, that benefit is largely seen when an economy is developing, and as a country puts in place the necessary transport systems to support a modern economy. Once those networks are in place, the focus shifts to reducing the costs of doing business along these routes (addressing bottlenecks) to maintain relative economic competitiveness.
Transport investments that connect regions to other markets can have a two-way effect. New connections can allow the development of economic activity in a region or they can allow existing economic activity to be drawn away from the region.
THE FUTURE PRESENTED BY BLOCKCHAIN
An important phenomenon which must be explained in detail about ways of solving the transport problem is blockchain. Blockchain gives access of an encrypted, decentralized and tamper-proof ledger to transportation companies. Blockchain also gives room for tracking companies and they would be the one to verify whether the package has arrived or not at every checkpoint the package would pass through. Also, Blockchain makes it impossible for corrupt officers to forge documents, because with blockchain, steps can be retraced to know where it all went wrong. It also helps cut-down on the necessary paperwork which is needed to track shipments.
Companies are already looking into the possibility of blockchain taking over. Either infant companies, large companies and even those not related to logistics and shipping they are all giving blockchain consideration. Even big names in the food industry such as Walmart, Nestle, Dole have been trying to discover how to use blockchain technology to watch food supply chain. This allows for faster and more accurate recalls.
Blockchain is also capable of tracking natural resources . This would help ensure that these resources are not pilfered, in the case of precious materials, it helps ensure they do not get lost when they are being shipped. DHL also revealed that they want to produce blockchain-based model of their own supply chain.
Majorly, Blockchain will curb the excesses of the current transportation industry. One of the blockchain based technology that offers a perfect solution has been created to solve this excesses. This technology comes in form of Cargocoin.
Blockchain has numerous platforms under it which have been introduced to reduce or eradicate the disadvantages in which the current transportation companies are facing. These platforms have been put in place to reduce costs, stop pilfering or bring it down to the barest minimum, reduce the amount of paperwork and also the irregularities incurred during transport. The platform which has been able to effectively do this is Cargocoin.
If you are really curious as to how cargocoin would successfully stop these issues, why not read further.
Cargocoin
A form of smart contract, cryptocurrency platform that has been in use since April 1st, 2018. It is a major for stakeholders engaged in international trade and transport of cargoes and commodities. It is aimed at simplifying and ironing out the wrinkles of bureaucracy, delays and accumulated storage cost Off the vesture of global trade and transport by facilitating exchange of document, transport, trade and payment options in good time and at low cost. Cargocoin operates from the standpoint of revolutionizing global trade and transport by decentralization. Being an online platform, it links the physical world of trade and transport with the blockchain. It serves as a connect between various parties involved in international trade and transportation, aiding their exchange of information on cargoes, meeting their transport needs, as well as providing supplemental services. It also suffice as an electronic means of recording the trading process from the offer to the delivery, and could additionally be used to facilitate payment. CargoCoin project is the one idea which would change the world of global trade forever. It has the potential to project the world of trade from the 19th century into the future. Like I always say, “with cargocoin, the future is now.”
Cargocoin is to be based on the newest ERC223 token standard rather than the ERC20 token standard. The ERC 233 allows for more advanced, precise and universal handling of smart contracts, required for the project, while avoiding potential token traps.
The idea came about in the third quarter in 2017 and has been scheduled to go through the time cycle below.
If you want to have that cutting edge in your investments and put your portfolio over the top, you’ve just got your lucky charm- Cargocoin. Cargocoin is a pioneer idea, a first of its kind in the world of trade and transport. As explained by the time cycle above, it intends to create a synergy even outside the marine international trade industry.
It is now a general phenomenon that blockchain technology is more than just Bitcoin. Across finance, healthcare, media, government and other sectors, Companies are getting innovative everyday. Numerous platforms have been created based on blockchain which have been introduced to reduce or eradicate the disadvantages in which the current transportation companies are facing. These platforms have been put in place to reduce costs, stop pilfering or bring it down to the barest minimum, reduce the amount of paperwork and also the irregularities incurred during transport. Other blockchain based technologies concerned with the transportation and global trade industry includes some major industry players that have recently delved into projects which would help test the use of Blockchain in numerous shipping transactions. The popular Danish shipping major Maersk has recently partnered with IBM to test a Blockchain-based approach in tracking shipments.
There would be extension to the shipping industry when it gets to its full scale. (containers, bulk, break bulk, liquid bulk), land transportation (trucks, railways), air transportation by planes, drones, etc.), and other types of “new age” transport such as pipeline transport, space cargo, intercity and outer city shared rides, allowing for infinite functionality. This will result in a form of synergy between the commodities & cargo traders with all transport means on a global scale. Presently, cargocoin is starting off with marine international trade. With the introduction of blockchain in marine global transport and trade, through cargocoin, revolutionary developments would be experienced, changes that will breathe new life to global trade and transport.
Apart from IBM and Maersk, other companies have also made use of Blockchain to monitor and give protection to its valuable assets such as diamonds. An example of such company is the London-based startup Everledger. A consortium of South Korean businesses has utilized the technology to track refer containers from shipment booking to cargo delivery. Another blockchain technological platform is Webjet.
Webjet is an online travel portal which develops blockchain solution to allow stock of empty hotel rooms to be efficiently tracked and traded, with payment fairly routed to the network of middle-men sites involved in filling last-minute vacancies.
There are other blockchain platforms that deals majorly in retail services, These platforms includes :
Loyyal – This is a blockchain-based universal loyalty framework, which aims to allow consumers to combine and trade loyalty rewards in new ways, and retailers to offer more sophisticated loyalty packages.
Blockpoint.io – Allows retailers to build payment systems around blockchain currencies such as Bitcoin, as well as blockchain derived gift cards and loyalty schemes.
Here are a few of the revolutionary changes that will be effected in the transportation and global trade industry by Blockchain:
- Blockchain means improved freight tracking
Demand is on the increase and the same goes for expectations of consumers. It is always increasing. For this reason, commercial transportation companies have to step up to meet with the always increasing demand. This is because trading and transport go hand in hand. This is why they have to make innovations. Lots of transport companies have already made investments in the tracking technology. Transportation companies always are in need of authenticated secure data which would help them to consistently improve their operations. The system that is being made use of to do this is subject to misinterpretation and manipulation which would obviously have adverse effect on the global supply chain. With the aid of the blockchain technology, the issues that are being experienced currently would not have existed to the extent in which it has currently. By making use of blockchain for data authentication, the entire network must contribute and validate data and it is no longer subject to tampering. The increased reliability of tracking information would also have an effect on the conversation of goods that are purchased.
- Effective fleet or vehicle performance tracking
The importance of tracking is not limited to only performance delivery. It is also useful to individual vehicle performance within a fleet. For example, if an individual should purchase a second hand vehicle, blockchain would help to authenticate information on the previous performance of the vehicle and its maintenance.
- Making use of the Internet Of Things for vehicle to vehicle communication.
Blockchain and the internet can come together to form an unstoppable combination which would aid in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the trucking industry. The vehicle to vehicle communication gives to for multiple freight vehicles to form a convoy and enhance communication which would improve fuel efficiency and safety.
- Helps make load boards more reliable.
Many transport companies are always on the lookout for load boards because the data often gets muddled or duplicated, which provides an unreliable and unrelated representation of demand. Shippers can now post loads which have been time stamped and have also been recorded and verified. With this feature, loads cannot be duplicated and data would not lose its integrity. It also eliminates the need for a middleman in transportation.
- Blockchain helps cut costs and also eliminates middlemen.
Blockchain helps to reduce costs in the freight Industry and these is because tasks under blockchain are self-executing and are coded through the blockchain and are executed when some specific conditions are met. So blockchain helps to cut unnecessary administrative costs and it removes all the probable errors which might have occurred.
General Conclusion:
Blockchain advantages are limitless, It’s benefits spreads across all industries. As can be seen above, it has a lot of revolutionary benefits in the transportation and global trade industry which includes; effective vehicle performance tracking, helps cut costs and also eliminates middlemen. This benefits are being implemented by one of the best blockchain based technology which is Cargocoin. it is quite evident that global trade and transportation would be changed by decentralization. Blockchain is here to stay and cargocoin is here to solve all transportation problems and worries for buyers, sellers and transportation companies inclusive.
