Open Source Standards Enable Digitization with Security and Interoperability in Trade — Trade Customs Logistics
Originally published at https://tradecustomslogistics.net on July 7, 2022.
One estimate shows that global container shipping generates 28.5 billion paper documents a year. Yearly, paper bills of lading cost an estimated $11 billion and still only 1.2% of bills of lading were electronic by the end of 2021. Modernizing the trade industry through digitization is just one of the pain points industry stakeholders at large can agree upon. Simply moving from paper to PDF cuts down on cost, reduces environmental impact, and improves a single company’s internal efficiency. But that one step doesn’t address critical industry needs such as security and interoperability. This is where open source standards provide a comprehensive pathway towards a modernized supply chain.
To address some of global trade’s key pain points, we look for technologies that:
- Codify networks of trust;
- Add community value;
- Free you from vendor lock; and
- Offer peak interoperability.
Open source standards as applied to the trade industry have demonstrated the answer.
Open Source Standards Provide Supply Chain Security and Enable Stakeholder Interoperability
Open source standards for Verifiable Credentials (VCs) and Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) have created an ability for trust to travel with data by issuing authoritative information about companies and products. The key to supply chain interoperability is to meet customers on the systems they already rely on. Software that builds on top of standards with this requirement in mind will enable companies to securely share verifiable data across existing silos. Speaking “the same language,” which is at its core the definition of standards, is the function of JSON-LD (literally Linked Data)
Standards Applied to Supply Chain
Linked Data, Verifiable Credentials (VCs), and Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are emerging standards which will revolutionize all industries of trade.
- W3C Decentralized Identifiers
- W3C Verifiable Credentials
- JSON Web Token (JWT)
- JSON Web Key (JWK)
- JSON-LD
Wide adoption of these open source standards brings tremendous security and interoperability value to a digitized supply chain without compromising competitiveness.
Jessica Tacka, Transmute’s Product Marketing Manager, is a Washington, DC-based policy wonk with over a decade working US National Security, including military supply chain, CFIUS, and tech transfer.
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn and Twitter
About Transmute: Building on the security and freedom that Web3 promised, Transmute provides all the benefits of decentralization to enterprise teams seeking a cost effective, interoperable, planet-forward experience provided by experts in technology and industry.
Transmute was founded in 2017, graduated from TechStars Austin in 2018, and is based in sunny Austin, Texas. Learn more about us at: http://www.transmute.industries
