Think-A-Thon provides impetus for innovative business models
Blockchain technology offers enormous possibilities. This has been successfully demonstrated by Jettainer’s three-day Think-A-Thon at this year’s transport logistic China, which took place from 16 to 18 May 2018. In order to use this technology for logistics in the future, around 25 logistics students from Shanghai’s Tongji University were looking for new applications in global supply chains under the guidance of Jettainer at the industry fair in Shanghai. Finally, the groups pitched their creative ideas to the industry on the last day of the fair. This included, for example, a blockchain-enabled database for ULD tracking.
“With the Think-A-Thon we have taken a new path and it has paid off. The cooperation with the students has been excellent and so many creative ideas for blockchain applications in worldwide supply chains have emerged. We will now evaluate them one by one in order to further develop the topic in our company,” sums up Carsten Hernig, Managing Director of Jettainer GmbH.
During the Think-A-Thon, the students were divided into groups that dealt with the topic of blockchain in logistics from various perspectives. Among other things, the idea has been developed to implement a blockchain-compatible database for ULD tracking. This would have the advantage that information from airlines, ground handlers and forwarders would be stored in one place and would be easily accessible to all parties in the supply chain. This would make it possible to react quickly in the event of damages, but also to avoid future damage by means of analyses. Another idea was to integrate digital contracts into blockchain, which are forgery-proof and individually adapted to the respective customer needs. In particular, this is intended to simplify the acquisition of small customers, as marginal costs are reduced on the one hand and transparency between the contracting parties is created on the other.
“The successful cooperation on the Jettainer Think-A-Thon is a good example of the exchange between business and science. As a trade fair organizer, we strive to develop new, innovative formats together with our exhibitors and thus promote such cooperation,” says Gerhard Gerritzen, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH.
Jettainer GmbH, which planned the Think-A-Thon in cooperation with Messe München, initiated the project and the PR agency Medienbüro am Reichstag.
