IRU speaks to Stefan Kukman, founder of CargoX – joint winner of the IRU/Road Ventures startup competition.
CargoX is a revolutionary startup that powers the maritime shipping industry with blockchain solutions – and it is poised to extend to the road transport and air-freight ecosystem. Stefan Kukman projects a future where data flow is “constant, unrestricted, direct, and – most of all – meaningful”. And he warns that customers will expect integrated services, partnerships and synergies to streamline their businesses. It is time to share.
What does the CargoX platform offer?
The CargoX platform is the world’s first truly neutral and open platform for maritime shipping documentation. It is built with the revolutionary Blockchain Document Transaction System technology (BDTS), developed for secure, fast, and efficient maritime shipping documentation creation, transfer, and management.
The platform enables quick integration in existing workflows, and up-front investments are negligible. New users can begin using it in a matter of hours, and benefits will help companies maximise operational profits in real-time.
The biggest benefit is that all companies that are part of shipping ecosystem can access their blockchain document transaction archive for 10 years.
“All the documents are visible in one place.”
The transactions are completely safe, and they are conducted in the blink of an eye - so there is no need to wait for a Bill of Lading to arrive later, as it can be sent across the globe within a matter of minutes. Also, it cannot be damaged, stolen, or lost.
How do the various actors within the logistics chain start using it?
After signing a contract with CargoX, users just create an account and they can start using the platform at once. They can create Smart B/L™ documents or receive them to their account within minutes!
We paid special attention to the user experience - the platform is accessible through a web browser, and there is no need to install any additional software. The web interface is simple to use and it enables quick interaction, creation, overview and sending of documentation, as well as document retrieval from our secure digital archive.
“Anyone who knows how to use a web browser knows how to use the CargoX platform. It’s that simple.”
Does it work for intermodal transport?
We conceived the CargoX platform with the global shipping business in mind. The documents can be created, transferred, received, and amended anywhere in the world, and parties in the workflow can see the document transactions and changes within minutes. So it is a simple configuration on our side to introduce new modalities of transport to the platform.
We are currently talking about intermodal transport modifications with our partners, large regional logistics companies, which utilise all kinds of transport for their supply chain management services.
As with the CargoX platform, our intermodal transport development will be the product of our technology, but also the expertise and know-how of our partners, who contribute greatly to our platform.
You recently won the Road Ventures/IRU startup competition and received funds for further investment. What are your key priorities for the immediate future – how will you use the investment?
We have already developed our CargoX platform: it is live and operational. We will use the prize money to develop new functionalities - we are looking at how to extend the CargoX platform functionality into road transport and air freight.
“We know road transport is the key element of the whole supply chain management ecosystem.”
We want to contribute to the whole industry with improved speed, safety, and reliability of shipping documentation management and transactions.
What is your advice to the transport industry (transport associations and operators) with respect to digitalisation and innovation?
We are aware of the shipping industry’s potential and we see a big opportunity for companies who know how to bridge the digital gap and jump ahead with the new tools made available by the numerous platforms and providers.
Complete digital transformation has plenty of benefits for all actors in the markets, but the shippers, freight forwarders, supply chain management companies, NVOCCs, and other participants can benefit the most from a completely new set of digital, open, vendor-neutral methods of data and business interactions.
“In the future, those who have better and more functional network connections will be able to respond to market demand and service improvement requests faster and more efficiently.”
This will directly influence their business margins.
What is your vision for the future of transport?
We can imagine a future where data flow is constant, unrestricted, direct, and - most of all - meaningful. Data interactions between companies will enable new synergies and partnerships.
“A new breed of services will arise, and a completely new level of data ownership, data usage, and data tracking will be implemented.”
Our CargoX platform is a great example of this, where owners of documents and data can track every transaction and state ownership at any time.
So, the future will bring primarily collaboration and awareness that companies are not alone in the market, and that customers demand this collaboration so that they can enjoy faster and more reliable services.