Samsung Electronics Co., the South-Korean manufacturing giant, is considering using Blockchain technology to streamline its international supply network. Looking to a distributed ledger system, Samsung hopes to manage and track its multi-billion dollar shipments of electronics.

Song Kwang-Woo, head of blockchain at Samsung SDS co. – Samsung’s IT subsidiary – explained to Bloomberg how the technology can help the company cut shipping costs by 20% – remarking that:

“It will have an enormous impact on the supply chains of manufacturing industries. Blockchain is a core platform to fuel our digital transformation.”

According to the Bloomberg report, Samsung SDS is expecting to manage 488,000 tons of air cargo and 1 million 20-foot-equivalent (TEU) shipping units this year – with Blockchain seen as a key new tool in handling such large shipments.

Although Samsung hasn’t yet specified the precise role the technology will play in their electronics logistics, Blockchain has been touted by the shipping industry as a major asset for the future of the sector.

Distributed shipping ledgers are seen a solution to costly documentation delays because they cut out the wasted time taken for paperwork to flow between middlemen in the supply chain – a problem felt acutely with food and other perishable cargos.

An open, safe and decentralised platform for shipping records is also viewed as a major stepping stone towards increasing transparency within the industry and preventing fraud.

While Samsung SDS has already been at the forefront of implementing Blockchain technology via its 7-month shipping pilot in Korea and its Nexledger B2B platform, the potential application to Samsung’s bread-and-butter electronics business will be seen by many in the crypto world as an important endorsement of Blockchain.

Feature Image Credit: “Shipping routes red black” by “B.S. Halpern” via Wikimedia Commons; licensed under “CC BY-SA 3.0”