Tag Archives: entrepreneurship

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Blockchain not yet for supply chains

Gartner says 80% of blockchain supply chain developments won’t get out of design and development for several years.  So many of them are just recycling financial blockchain ideas into supply chain space without understanding the issues.  A case of a solution chasing a problem, the bugaboo of ITY initiatives forever.

I’d like to get my hands on this report from Gartner.  It should be interesting.

The Gartner source below says 90%!!! I like that number better as an estimate.

Here’s a quote from the latter press release from Gartner:

“The budding nature of blockchain makes it almost impossible for organizations to identify and target specific high-value use cases. Instead, companies are forced to run multiple development pilots using trial and error to find ones that might provide value.  …

Furthermore, current creations offered by solution providers are complicated hybrids of conventional blockchain technologies.”

Exactly.

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 via Blockchain may be the way ahead for supply chains – but not yet – The Loadstar

Another source: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-05-07-gartner-predicts-90–of-blockchain-based-supply-chain

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Posted on February 13, 2020 by in Advanced Computing, Logistics, Production Operations, Strategy, Supply Chains, Uncategorized

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Maersk invest in ZigZag Returns

It’s clear that Maersk is making bets as a venture capitalist on young firms with unique value propositions. They have made an investment, via Maersk Growth, in ZigZag, a London-based firm.

I had never heard of ZigZag before.  They offer a SaaS (Software as a service) that allows manufacturers and retailers to manage returns in a one-stop manner.  Their services include hard logistics assets like access to warehouses and sortation centers and access to carriers, as well as just the software.

The story indicates some of what they do.  We all know that returns are a unique type of operation, whose nature differs with the type of industry.  HP has been doing it for many years in the printer division.  But I was interested to find out that there is a lot of interest among clothing manufacturers or retailers.

Apparently people buy clothes, use them for a while, and then return them, even for no refund.  There is also a temptation for retailers to get rid of stale inventory by simply throwing it in a landfill, a sustainability issue.  Easy returns offers an opportunity for a firm that can handle these problems efficiently and in a sustainable manner. (I presume there might be an incentive to cheat; but certainly a specialist could do a better job because it’s their core business).

I doubt that ZigZag will be merged with Maersk.  However, the bet makes sense when you understand that a lot of what Maersk carries is clothing manufactures from the Far East.  If ZigZag can help these clients it could make a difference in the clients’ bottom line, and Maersk would be able to say they helped with the supply chain problems.

Reach ZigZag here: https://www.zigzag.global/

screenshot-Zigzag 2019-11-06

via Maersk invest in ZigZag Returns – Press Release

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Posted on November 6, 2019 by in entrepreneurship, Investing, Logistics, Production Operations, Service Management, Strategy, Supply Chains, Sustainability

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Cryptocurrency TEU token gone

Here was one of the use cases for blockchain that everyone thought was innovative, addressed a real problem, and made some sense.  Apparently the users don’t think so.

It was designed to provide a mechanism to make reservations for 3PLs and shippers for slots on container ships.  The issue addressed was overbooking and no-shows.  But apparently noi one was able to make use of it. Only 100 were traded recently, leading to the firm’s shutdown.

I suspect the problem is the ocean carriers’ propensity to cancel voyages if they don’t have enough cargo. that delays everyone’s cargo till the next ship goes. That could be a week or more on many routes.  Why would anyone book using the TEU if the voyage will be canceled?

A bit more design thinking, developing user personas and use cases, might have revealed this flaw early on and prevented the waste of venture capital and startup labor, or created more usable modifications.  But maybe it accomplished what the entrepreneurs wanted– they got funded for a year or so and put the money in their own pockets. So what about the users? The VCs have baked into their plans a 90% failure rate; they’ll just make it up on another better bet.

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via Low take-up forces shipping cryptocurrency teu token out of circulation – The Loadstar

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Posted on October 5, 2019 by in Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Supply Chains

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