By Thomas Jensen, Jonas Hedman, and Stefan Henningsson

Summary:

A longitudinal case study provides a rare glimpse into the development and evolution of TradeLens from 2013 to 2019. Data were collected from several sources, including interviews, conferences, focus groups, direct observation, project meetings, and field visits. The business value of this global supply chain system is still evolving, but seven valuable lessons provide guidance for future blockchain projects with interorganizational boundaries.

General take-aways:

• TradeLens is a blockchain-based system used in the international container shipping industry.
• The system enables a trusted exchange of information between players.
• The system also enables them to comply with regulations while raising efficiency, reducing administrative costs, lead times, and risk
• Development of the system required cooperation between two firms, but the process was complex
• Slow adoption was due to initial concerns about the technology infrastructure being fully in place, and about whether shared documents can be trusted

Seven recommended actions include:

1. Refocus strategies towards the entire ecosystem of customers, partners, authorities, and competitors
   
2. Early on, focus on the vision, not the return on investment (ROI), because ROI builds as the network effect grows
   
3. Solutions to interorganizational problems should be approached from the perspective of distributed control, not firm control
   
4. Build partner trust before and after blockchain trust
   
5. Some solutions require governmental authority backing early in the process.
   
6. Evolve the governance model as adoption expands
   
7. Consider blockchain interoperability in strategic plans