Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG and mechanical engineering firm Dürr AG have conducted a pilot transaction on blockchain software firm R3’s Marco Polo trade finance network.

According to a press release published on Sept. 25, the transaction between Daimler and Dürr included the order and delivery agreement from Dürr’s subsidiary Schenck, wherein the payment was secured by a conditional payment commitment by the buyer’s bank. Marco Polo founding member LBBW provided the financing and payment commitment.

Once the equipment was delivered, the system automatically uploaded the order fulfillment information and adjusted it with previously agreed transaction data.

Fast and efficient transactions

The parties claimed that the Marco Polo network completed the transaction within minutes, with Corda mapping the entire data flow. Jürgen Vogt, director treasury of controlling, analytics and standards at Daimler AG, said the project allowed the firm to evaluate future possibilities of blockchain in the digitization of trade finance. Following the pilot, Schenck chief financial officer Susanne Schlegel said:

“The successful pilot project between Daimler and LBBW demonstrates the intrinsic efficiency potential of digital trade finance processes. Innovative platforms and technologies such as Marco Polo und Corda allow us to reduce complexities in order fulfillment — to the benefit of all participants.“

Growing adoption of blockchain-based transactions

Daimler is not new to blockchain projects. In August, Frankfurt bank and financial services firm Commerzbank tested blockchain-based machine-to-machine payments with trucks produced by Daimler. To allow the transaction, the bank reportedly tokenized euros on the blockchain and provided the funds to the automaker to process the payments.

Marco Polo saw its first real transactions in March, when it facilitated a trade between Germany and China, involving two German firms.