Maersk, IBM scrap TradeLens

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) and IBM have announced the decision to withdraw the TradeLens offerings and discontinue the platform.

The move has been cited as TradeLens “has not reached the level of commercial viability” to continue work on the platform.

The move will be effective starting 29 November, and the platform is scheduled to go offline by end of Q1 2023.

“TradeLens was founded on the bold vision to make a leap in global supply chain digitisation as an open and neutral industry platform,” said Rotem Hershko, Head of Business Platforms at Maersk.

“Unfortunately, while we successfully developed a viable platform, the need for full global industry collaboration has not been achieved.

“As a result, TradeLens has not reached the level of commercial viability necessary to continue work and meet the financial expectations as an independent business.”

The TradeLens platform was first announced in 2018 and jointly developed by IBM and GTD Solution – Maersk’s division – as a blockchain-enabled shipping solution to promote more efficient and secure global trade.

Maersk continued its record streak in the third quarter of 2022, registering the 16th quarter in a row with year-on-year earnings growth.

Revenue for Q3 increased to $22.8 billion or by 37 per cent compared to the same period last year.