Critical Analysis of International Shipments within Mainstream Blockchain Framework using Industrial Engineering Techniques

Abstract

International trading is an amalgamation of confusion and misdirection when it comes to the security of documents. There are banks, insurers, carriers, freight forwarders and agents involved. Parties exchange data and documents in an isolated peer to peer manner. There is no consistent view of the process or document versions. Individual interfaces between partner systems are costly. Manual handling of paper-based documents is inefficient and delivering paper documents via expressing courier services adds another significant cost factor. Blockchain for International trading aims to establish a new level of security and transparency. This framework complements an updated IOT (Internet of Things) -based data feed structure to guarantee the reliability and security of information received and captured. Along with the replication of functions similar to that of a distributed ledger, it transforms shipping processes, enabling digital document sharing, signing and approval. In short, applying blockchain techniques result in cost savings, time efficiency, as well as the elimination of fraud and stolen freight. Through Blockchain and different Industrial Engineering techniques, we aspire on implementing the required protocols in order to optimize the process.