Talking Tech in the Age of Supply Chain

WHY?  Well I care, but let me explain.

So this is technically my first blog post ever.  Yes, I’m a little late to the party but after creating all the content for this Garner Enterprises website I felt like I’d exhausted my conversation points with the why’s and how’s companies should seriously consider moving long-haul commercial freight to rail where the networks are strong.  And, honestly that has really been my focus for nearly a decade.  Create efficiencies in steel wheel connections, make more money & lower your carbon emissions while doing it.

That is until 2015 when my RRS feed blew up with chatter about concerns around the VGM & what the impact would be when the International Maritime Organization implemented the long consider verified gross mass regulation that would affect all member nations.  On any given day that’s somewhere between 162 and 175 countries whom hold title as IMO member nations.  This is an appealing title and not one that member nations are quick to have repealed. 

Now, the IMO is not frequently in the business of implementing new regulations.  However, ballast is a critical issue and given the severity of poorly calculated ballast impacting the safety of life at sea, SOLAS,  the IMO decided it was high time to make a move that would impact the international community. 

So they did, on July, 1^st 2016 the VGM regulation was implemented.

There are a handful of international organizations internationally that manage these transactions.  Modestly, a single organization may handle over a million VGM transactions weekly.  In 2016, the top ten international ports reported over 200 million TEUs moved. 

Enter BlockChain.