In 2019 many industries are expected to experience changes due to new technologies and changes in regulations in the United States. One major industry that won’t be left out is that of trucking and logistics. They can expect that recent advancement in technology will help simplify processes, automate tasks and yield positive results.

Robotics, AI, autonomous vehicles, renewable energy all grab headlines and promise great things as we move into the next year. Some of the projects that are in play are truly remarkable in the ways they are expected to change how we do things. The supply chain runs in the background of consumer activities and is more complex than most people who aren’t involved with the supply chain imagine. But when issues slow the process of getting goods to their final destinations everyone has opinions about what should be done to make things better. Global delivery giant DHL has some ideas of their own that leverage its presence and the technology available.

There was a time when supply chain software was tightly focused on managing the transactions that went into processing orders. The software providers were specialized in EDI transactions - data files formatted according to the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standard. EDI files associated with logistics have become integral to the process. These electronic documents were originally separate from inventory control, shipping manifests, and payment processing, but the volume of transactions and the number of companies doing business electronically has made integration between supply chain logistics and ERP systems more common than ever.

In early August, IBM and Maersk unveiled TradeLens, a global trade blockchain platform seeking to bring efficiency and transparency to international shipping. After months of testing with port operators, customs authorities, logistics companies, and carriers, TradeLens hopes to be fully commercially available by the end of 2018. The platform is being billed as an open and neutral ecosystem, designed to integrate with other Hyperledger Fabric blockchains. While only time will tell if IBM and Maersk are truly dedicated to collaboration, the possibility of multiple blockchain platforms interacting and integrating could revolutionize shipping from the open ocean to the open road.