TradeLens
TradeLens was a blockchain-based shipping data platform developed by Maersk and IBM, launched in August 2018 and shut down in early 2023 after failing to win broad industry adoption.
What happened and why it matters
TradeLens showed that digitizing trade documents is as much a cooperation problem as a technology problem, and its failure still shapes how the industry approaches shared shipping data. Maersk and IBM announced plans in January 2018 and launched the platform on August 9, 2018, aiming to share container events and documents such as bills of lading among carriers, ports, customs, and shippers. It signed up more than 300 organizations, but many rival carriers stayed wary of a Maersk-led system. The partners announced the shutdown on November 29, 2022. Today most shippers still rely on EDI, APIs, and visibility platforms instead.
Sources
- Maersk and IBM launch TradeLens blockchain shipping solution (Marine Log) marinelog.com
- Maersk, IBM shut down TradeLens (Supply Chain Dive) supplychaindive.com