In the shipping industry, where a single container can go through dozens of people and organizations, effective record-keeping is crucial. IBM and Maersk are now collaborating to help shipping companies manage their massive paper trail with blockchain. Digitizing the shipping records process using blockchain technology is a move that could increase transparency and security in record-keeping, and potentially save the industry billions of dollars.

Several trading partners, government authorities and logistics companies are participating in the pilot, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“We believe that this new supply chain solution will be a transformative technology with the potential to completely disrupt and change the way global trade is done,” said Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, Industry Platforms, IBM.

IBM and Maersk expect to have the industry-wide system available later this year.