Learning more about blockchain and cryptocurrency can leave one with many questions about terms and often leaves me with a much longer list of things to look up at the end of the night than I started with. Let’s look at LTL and its relation to cryptocurrency and blockchain today.
Answer: LTL can refer to the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies compared to the Lithuanian Litai. In these cases, you will typically see LTL with the acronym for the cryptocurrency together, such as BTC LTL. However, it can also refer to as Less Than Truckload as many LTL carriers are using blockchain technology right now!
The advent of new uses for cryptocurrency and technologies from it is incredible.
Keep reading to learn a little about the Lithuanian Litai. Then after that, I will teach you some exciting things about Less Than Truckload and how they effectively use blockchain to create a bright new future.
What is the Lithuanian Litai?
The litai or LTL was the currency of Lithuania until January 1st of, 2015, when the euro replaced it. Since Lithuania replaced this currency, I doubt many people mean this when talking bout cryptocurrency; however, I found many large exchanges such as TD Ameritrade and Etrade listing BTCLTL.
You can read more on the Lithuanian Litas Wikipedia page.
Now let’s look at the incredible technology that Less Than Truckload carriers are using!
What is Less Than Truckload LTL?
Less Than Truckload or LTL carriers are freight companies that take less than a full load or have smaller vehicles, allowing them to take smaller loads more efficiently and refer to the shipment or the carrier. LTL carriers include UPS Freight, Fed Ex Freight, Con-way Freight, R+L Carriers, XPO, and Yello Corp.
Now you might be scratching your head a bit and saying, “what in the world does this have to do with cryptocurrency or blockchain?”
It is all in the unique set of solutions offered by blockchain technology to a fantastic collection of problems the LTL industry faces. Most of the exciting tech I could find is used to ship perishable goods such as food.
When freight is packed, the pallets and cargo are given markers, and then those markers are tracked through the entire journey in an unalterable ledger. Each step of the trip is recorded in a way that ensures the goods are delivered on time as expected.
For instance, it is possible to encode the haul temperature into the blockchain attached to a pallet for the entire duration of the journey. The implication for food safety is enormous. Gone are the days of someone fudging the numbers by erasing handwritten records or forgetting to log in when someone didn’t fill the freezer engine and the goods got to dangerous temperatures.
The entire record can be hashed into the block and uneditable by the crew, inspectors, or dock.
Shippers can further use the technology to organize shipments and coordinate with the entire supply chain. It would be possible to use blockchains with sharding to communicate orders effectively or redirect shipments mid-transit without much back and forth.
Not even consider billing and invoicing can all be automated, even payments with smart contracts.
On delivery –> Pay Supplier
or
On “Safe” delivery (maybe where all temp requirements are met) –> Pay supplier
Which LTL Companies Are Using Blockchain?
The Blockchain in Trucking Alliance (BiTA) has been created to standardize and leverage blockchain technology to facilitate the execution and visibility of trusted transactions between shippers and customers. Which is a fancy way of saying they want a way to verify things without the need for trust.
Bitcoin is designed to require no trust between parties listen to me read the Bitcoin whitepaper.
The list of companies signed up for the BiTA includes:
- UPS
- TRUX
- PROLOGIS
- CHEMDIRECT
- imaginnovate
- Web3devs
- CP
- OneLedger
- Tachyon
- Data Gumbo
- opentext
- LOADSURE
- GEMINI SHIPPERS GROUP
- SURGERE
- FACTOM
- Nasdaq
Shipping Companies Think They Can Do What With Blockchain?
BiTA did surveys of the companies that had joined the BiTA, and here is an exciting list of the things they think blockchain can be used for, as tweeted out by the BiTA account.
- Track products moving through the supply chain
- Share information with suppliers
- Track payment information
- Share information with customers
- Manage trade documentation
- Verify and monitor suppliers
- Manage supply chain risk
- Demand and supply planning and management
- Inventory management
This list is interesting because it might give more insight into what these companies think they need or want to see rather than what the technology is suitable for. I put the list in order, and it fits a standard exponential curve, with the first item being 80% and the last item being 35%.
One that stands out to me is managing trade documentation. Smart Contracts could make that an effortless task.
This was an exciting look at what the other side is doing with the new technology, and it might be a valuable tidbit of information when deciding who to invest in or what other technologies could be made. What do you think? Are there industries similar to shipping or LTL that could benefit from blockchain? Let me know in the comments.