UAE’s DP World partners with TradeLens to digitise supply chains

Dubai-based global port operator DP World has completed the early stages of integration with TradeLens, a blockchain-based digital container logistics platform, it announced on May 28.

The partnership between DP World and the TradeLens platform, which is co-developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM, will help expedite the digitisation of global supply chains.

DP World aims to connect all of its 82 marine and inland container terminals, as well as feeder companies and logistics divisions with TradeLens.

In 2019, DP World’s terminals handled 71.2 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers from around 70,000 vessels.

TradeLens converges data from the entire global supply chain ecosystem including shippers, port operators and shipping lines, while aiming to replace manual and paper-based documents with blockchain enabled digital solutions.

Additionally, TradeLens provides visibility across the entire supply chain, from booking to clearance to payments and is built on multiple inputs from the industry including direct integrations with more than 110 ports and terminals, 15+ customs authorities worldwide and an increasing number of intermodal providers.

Last month, DP World launched a digital platform to facilitate trade freight forwarders and allow any business to book shipments of cargo from and to anywhere in the world, by any combination of sea, land and air.

Read: UAE’s DP World launches digital platform to move global trade online

Meanwhile, the Digital Freight Alliance, SeaRates, LandRates and AirRates enable shippers to move cargo to and from anywhere at the click of a button, across DP World’s network and beyond.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive office of DP World said: “Our decision to team up with TradeLens is driven by our vision for intelligent logistics, reducing costs and creating value. DP World is working to deliver integrated supply chain solutions to cargo owners, backed by our global network of ports, terminals, economic zones and inland operations. By working with TradeLens, we will accelerate the digitisation of global trade. Modernising the processes by which logistics operate is critical to building more robust and more efficient supply chains which will help economic development and generate more prosperity.”

“At its core the TradeLens business model is an open and neutral platform to spur collaboration and digitisation between all parties in the supply chain ecosystem. We are excited to welcome DP World and eagerly await the creation of new potential ways of working for shippers and consignees in global trade. With 4 of the 5 largest global port operators actively engaged with TradeLens, the coverage of the ecosystem continues to expand rapidly,” said Mike White, CEO, GTD Solutions and Head of TradeLens.

DP World has already connected Cochin Port (India) with the TradeLens platform via API technology. Meanwhile, plans to collaborate with other DP World business units, including the feeder line Unifeeder, have also commenced.