I attended the #Blockchain For Supply Chain conference held this week on May 21 & 22, 2018 in Houston and hosted by the University of Houston under the #XChain2 umbrella. The event was MC’d by Daryl Price , former NFL star from the 49ers. The consultant team executing the event was great and even had an interview session with Michaella Black.
The University of Houston, Port of Houston and Port of Antwerp provided the sponsorship to this conference and help understand the business case for blockchain in Oil and Gas, energy, container management and shipping. Though there is debate on exactly when, it is expected that port operations will transition from the archaic systems and processes they use today to a more modern approach between 2028 to 2040. There was mention of the Maersk-IBM joint venture, though I wish someone from either firm was there to talk about this.
I met a number of senior folks from various companies including Port of Houston, Port of Antwerp, Shell, BP, Kuhne and Nagel, Ricoh, University of Houston, NxtPort, ShipNext, T-Mining etc. The opportunities in the energy industry are enormous. A number of the consulting companies talked about #blockchain and demonstrated standard PoCs around food provenance, track and trade, Invoice and settlement upon POD receipt, coffee beans provenance etc. Few vendors demonstrated PoCs, though some touted them as production ready.
Many participants were not aware of the #Hyperledger Project nor the enterprise capabilities of #Hyperledger-Fabric. However, look at the bright side. I learnt about the opportunities where Chainyard can contribute and lead. Here are some key takeaways –
Port Operations have several opportunities to explore how blockchain can help. They include:
Oil and Natural Gas Companies have also been exploring various use cases and some of the ones that I noted:
The Government especially the Customs and Border Patrol also finds blockchain as a potential technology in areas such as
Supply Chain Operations can improve processes around waybills, Bill of Lading, Proof of Delivery and Invoicing.
Overall, I find mini and focused conferences are more useful than massive ones with thousands of participants where having one on one conversations often is limited to a few minutes.
May 21 – 22, 2018
Houston, TX
At XChain2, you will discover how these revolutionary technologies have solved real-world problems in logistics and meet subject matter experts who will be showcasing their pilot projects as well as the value they added. More importantly, you will learn how to incorporate blockchain, AI, and IoE into your business practices and how they are transforming supply chains.
May 14 – May 16, 2018
New York Hilton Midtown
CoinDesk is proud to present our 4th annual blockchain technology summit, May 14-16, 2018 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Consensus 2018 will feature 250+ speakers and 4,000+ attendees from the leading industry startups, investors, financial institutions, enterprise tech leaders, and academic and policy groups who are building the foundations of the blockchain and digital currency economy.
Executives from across sectors and functional roles will gather May 10 at our flagship tech conference for a day of engaging keynotes, interactive panel discussions, fast paced pitch competition from tech startups and an Exhibit Showcase. A pre-conference reception will be held the evening prior, on May 9. Over 550+ attendees are expected, IBM returns as our presenting sponsor, and we will explore Cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is hot a hot topic in the tech sector and beyond right now as privacy and protection of personal, corporate and institutional data are becoming more and more critical. Come join us at our NC TECH State of Technology Conference to learn more about security in today’s world and what we can expect in the future.
May 4, 2018 – Durham Convention Center – Durham, NC