Thailand customs department to use TradeLens blockchain platform

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On Thursday, the Customs Department of Thailand announced that they will be using the TradeLens blockchain platform to help track shipping information in a move that is expected to streamline procedures.

The Customs Department will be working with IBM Thailand Company as well as with Maersk, a logistics provider, in helping to adopt the TradeLens platform into their system. This new partnership will help to support the Thailand 4.0 policy.

According to Patama Chantaruck, managing director of IBM Thailand, the TradeLens platform will help to provide “an automatic and immutable tracking tool, which will lead to a more secure, transparent, efficient and simpler workflow.”

In other words, what the new platform offers the ability for customs officials to receive shipping data immediately related to containers, and then be able to track that information from the port of origin all the way through until delivery. This should help officials to be able to prepare to receive shipments, thus reducing issues such as fraud and forgery.

The new platform will first be implemented at the Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri, and will later be implemented at the Bangkok port.

By using the TradeLens platform, it will provide all parties involved in the shipping process with real-time access to information, which should greatly expedite processes and cut costs. This will help all involved parties to be able to monitor exactly where the cargo is during shipping and to be able to handle any issues related to discrepancies that may occur.

For IBM, this is another example of how they have become the dominant force in blockchain technology for this type of use. They launched TradeLens in conjunction with Maersk exactly a year ago but were having difficulty finding partners at first. Some shipping carriers seemed obstinate toward the new platform, but the potential application for this platform seems unlimited.

In June, it was announced that IBM had reached an agreement with the government of Azerbaijan to develop a blockchain-based platform that would be used for the country’s customs procedures. This was part of a wide-ranging partnership with other countries in the region to develop blockchain technology that could be used both in the country and throughout the region, especially in areas such as the Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.

What was not revealed as part of the June announcement was whether TradeLens was to be the platform that would be implemented in Azerbaijan. The testing of the system in Thailand may give IBM the opportunity to showcase how effective this system can be before implementing it in other countries, most notably in Azerbaijan.