World’s largest cargo carriers now on board with TradeLens platform
Despite the skepticism surrounding IBM and Maersk’s “ownership” of the blockchain platform TradeLens, two of the largest carriers – CMA CGM and the Mediterranean Shipping Company- have decided to join the platform. Maersk and IBM first announced TradeLens three years ago, as an opportunity for the industry to build a network within global commerce to increase transparency and monitor the supply chain end-to-end. It was criticized by CGA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd in 2018, as they didn’t see how such a platform could be successful without a common industry standard. The two founders were also seen to have too much power over the platform.
Now that the companies have joined the blockchain, TradeLens accounts for the shipping data of over half of all container lines on international waters. According to an IBM infographic, the platform has already published over 500 million discrete shipping events since 2018, and this number increases by more than 1.5 million each day. The shipping network currently consists of over 100 participants and TradeLens is used to track 20 million containers on an annual basis.
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IKEA finally adds new shopping feature in app revamp
Good news for IKEA fanatics: The retailer recently announced that it is launching a new and improved smartphone app in which customers will be able to buy products- unlike IKEA’s current main application, which only allows users to add items to a shopping list for in-store use.
The new app will help customers to visualize products in the context of their own homes by inputting certain information, such as room dimensions and tastes. The new app will also provide features that support the company’s move towards downtown stores with reduced inventories. For instance, users will be able to point their phone at a piece of furniture in store and the app will display information on the available color range or fabrics. They will also be able to see it in the context of a room or alongside other products in the same range. IKEA originally launched an augmented reality app in 2017 which included over 2,000 items; however, customers weren’t able to make purchases on it.
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Tesla gets sued
France-based metal supplier, Lebronze Alloys (LBA), is suing Tesla for an alleged $1.77 million (approximately) in unpaid bills. The lawsuit was filed in court on Tuesday. Tesla is yet to comment.
The supplier has been supplying metal parts for Tesla since 2016. However, according to LBA, despite “numerous efforts”, meetings, letters, calls and emails, attempts to get Tesla to pay what it owes were unsuccessful. The company initially made an agreement with LBA in 2016, to buy parts for up to 1.5 million vehicles. It then amended this agreement in February this year, with a reduced forecast of just 250,000 vehicles. According to the lawsuit, Tesla requested an immediate telephone conference call with LBA in April, in which it informed the supplier it would be terminating the initial and amended agreements. This was without advance notice and contrary to the terms of both agreements.
You can read more about Tesla’s troubles here.
Have a great weekend.
