The century-old express delivery giant United Parcel Service (UPS) believes that blockchain technology can help simplify the parcel delivery logistics in the global supply chain.
According to documents released by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday, Georgia-based UPS has applied for a patent that uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). ) Parcel scheduling in an international supply chain that may include multiple operators.
UPS originally filed the patent application on February 16. The patent describes that although freight logistics providers are already very good at optimizing parcel scheduling to improve efficiency and reduce costs, it is still difficult to coordinate logistics for freight involving multiple logistics service providers' transportation networks. The patent author described it like this:
"Different logistics service providers transport the shipping units and different bulk cargoes from the place of shipment to the destination. There may be an optimal solution. However, the transportation of the shipping units is coordinated through the transportation network of various logistics service providers. It will be more difficult. In addition, if the transport and shipment unit has special handling requirements, it may be difficult to ensure that each logistics service provider that assists in the transport and shipment unit can perform the special handling requirements."
The goal of UPS is to solve this problem through an autonomous system. In some embodiments, it uses an immutable blockchain ledger to implement automatic parcel scheduling among multiple logistics service provider networks.
Once a package is scanned into a packaging device, the system automatically selects the route based on the service provided by the transportation provider connected to the network. When the package arrives at the destination, information about the goods will be recorded in the blockchain ledger, so that the system can assess whether the service provider has fulfilled their service obligations.
The patent author pointed out that, in some forms, the system can be built to provide interlocking DLT networks that use smart contracts to pay the parties in the supply chain because they fulfill their obligations in specific transportation links. If the system is built on a public blockchain network, it can even use decentralized cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin or Ethereum) to process these value transfers. The patent continues:
“Therefore, various implementation situations may include and/or use the digital currency/asset embodied by the ledger entry. Digital currencies/assets (such as Bitcoin, Ether and/or similar cryptocurrencies) may themselves have value, Can be used to exchange different transport units, services and/or similar things."
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