Blockchain in Transport Alliance Works to Modernize Bills of Lading

The Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) has founded a new study group to bring the bill of lading process into the digital age. The group was established by the standards development side of BiTA, referred to as "BiTA-S,” with the mission to create a modern definition of "bill of lading" and an associated data structure specification that can be leveraged across all transport modes for supply chain stakeholders. Its participants are subject matter experts from BiTA-member companies representing trucking, rail, sea and air.

As part of that effort, the group announced the election of Richard Greening, global director of technology for The DDC Group and its freight-focused division DDC FPO, to serve as co-chair of the alliance’s Bill of Lading (BOL) Working Group.

“Mr. Greening’s experience leading the technology teams behind DDC, which is a global leader in freight back office solutions and currently processes more than 30% of all LTL bills in North America, will be a very valuable addition,” said Patrick Duffy, president of BiTA. “BiTA-S looks forward to seeing this group thrive under their leadership.”

Looking ahead at his group’s assignment, Greening said, “We are still in the infancy of what technology can provide. Having worked with industry bodies in the past, it is refreshing and very impressive to see what BiTA has managed to achieve in such a short amount of time.”

Greening’s first matter of business is to ensure the group hits its component milestones and is in a position to support all freight sectors.

Greening joins the BiTA-S group with a combination of technical expertise and deep industry knowledge in logistics and supply chain. With his original background in air freight, Greening has developed and deployed systems for freighter networks, freight forwarders, airside ground handling facilities and bonded warehouses.His personal track record in automation, innovation and analytics coupled with DDC’s thirty years in data capture, business process outsourcing and bespoke technology like DDC Intelligence, sets him up as a valuable thought leader for future operations in transportation.

“I'm thrilled that we have such talented individuals in these leadership positions,” explained Duffy. “Their respective expertise will help to accelerate this working group's progress towards a bill of lading data structure for an era of blockchain-enabled supply chains.”

“As we have been working through the attributes and relationships needed for this standard, it has been very enjoyable hearing examples of scenarios and potential challenges in other freight sectors and discussing what these could be in the future,” explained Greening. “We need to ensure we set a good example for other groups to follow.”