Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), in collaboration with five Australian and international supply chain firms, has announced a blockchain trial that involves shipment of 17 tonnes of almonds from Sunraysia in Victoria, Australia, to Hamburg in Germany.

In 2016, CBA and US-based bank Wells Fargo successfully completed the first global trade transaction via blockchain between two independent banks. Building upon that work, the latest project focused on how CBA could help its partners optimise working capital and asset utilisation, exploring trade finance concepts and potential for in-app payment and invoicing.

The platform leveraged Ethereum blockchain, smart contracts and the internet of things (IoT) to digitize three key areas of global trade – operations, documentation and finance – by putting the container information, completion of tasks and shipping documents, on a purpose-built blockchain.

The new platform enhanced transparency and efficiency of the process by allowing the participants to view and track the location of the shipment as well as view the conditions, such as temperature and humidity inside the container, via four IoT devices. At the documentation layer, it enabled partners to upload and access key documents, such as bill of lading, certificates of origin and other documents required by customs, which streamlined these processes.

“Our blockchain-enabled global trade platform experiment brought to life the idea of a modern global supply chain that is agile, efficient and transparent. We believe that blockchain can help our partners reduce the burden of administration on their businesses and enable them to deliver best-in-class services to their customers,” Chris Scougall, Managing Director of Industrials and Logistics in Client Coverage, CBA said.

The trial was conducted in collaboration with Olam Orchards Australia Pty Ltd, Pacific National for rail haulage, port landlord Port of Melbourne, stevedore Patrick Terminals and shipping carrier OOCL Limited. Hardware and software support was provided by Australian IoT provider LX Group to ship the almonds from Mildura to the global hub of Hamburg.