Companies in the Netherlands are experimenting with blockchain technology through a 16-partner consortium.

Led by TKI Dinalog, a Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics, the consortium is looking to explore how distributed ledger technology can advance operations to bolster efficiency and effectiveness, and reduce supply chain footprints.

Partners on this project include TU Delft, Windesheim, the SCF Community, TNO, Centric, Exact, ABN AMRO, SmartPort, Royal FloraHolland, the Port of Rotterdam, FBBasic & Cirmar, BeScope Solutions, NBK, Innopay, and TransFollow. The project is complementary to the public-private initiative to establish a national research institute for blockchain.

The consortium has the goal of developing three concrete use cases such as chain financing, supply financing, and circular economics. With the total scale of the project amounting to $2.3 million, this is the first time blockchain technology is being launched with various partners in the logistics chain.

“If you ask me, using blockchain technology for the financial routes in logistics is just the beginning,” said Martijn Siebrand, supply chain finance program manager. “I see this as a stepping stone towards a logistics sector with improved collaboration throughout the entire chain.”

In a major TKI Dinalog project, TU Delft, ABN AMRO, the SCF Community, the Port of Rotterdam, Royal FloraHolland , SmartPort and ten other partners will set to work using blockchain technology in the logistics sector. The total scale of the project amounts to $2.3 million. This is the first time anywhere in the world that a concrete blockchain project of this standard has been launched with various partners in the logistics chain.

Blockchain technology has been on the rise all around the world in recent years. The technology, which uses an open network of databases and functions as a public, digital, distributed ledger, has a wide range of applications. In the coming two years, the project will focus on developing the contours of a new information infrastructure based on blockchain technology, uniting operational information, financial flows and contracts.

In the project, the use of blockchain technology for logistics purposes will be concretely set up, tested and live tested. “This project is not about discussing potential, we are actually going to put words into action,” said Johan Pouwelse, project manager and associate professor at TU Delft.

The final result of the project is centered on delivering three concrete use cases: chain financing, supply financing, and circular economics. TU Delft will concentrate on creating an open-source core business infrastructure that will make the blockchain suitable for mission critical usage.