MGI teams up with Thales to develop blockchain-powered cargo community system

French software company MGI has partnered with Thales to incorporate blockchain technology into its Cargo Intelligent System dubbed as Ci5, according to a news release published by PortSEurope.

As per the announcement, the Ci5 Cargo Community System (CCS), which is built on modern architecture and open source technologies, will allow clients to act as trusted third parties during key statuses validation for the release of goods from shipping terminals. Each transaction is confirmed via a consortium validation system that is composed of the system’s clients.

“In practical terms, for imports, Ci5’s Final Release, which authorizes the release of goods from the shipping terminal, is obtained when the Shipping Release, Forwarder Release and Customs Release statuses are validated,” the news release stated.

The integration of blockchain in these Ci5 statuses ensures that goods can be tracked and monitored safely in the supply chain events while preventing data alteration and falsification.

“It’s a brand-new innovation for this type of system. Besides improving the security and traceability of transactions, blockchain technology essentially makes all the operators that use Ci5 trusted third parties” MGI Director of Information Systems and Operation Alain Perez said.

The new initiative makes MGI the world’s first blockchain-powered CCS provider. The company plans to integrate blockchain in other Ci5 events over the course of 2019.

Recently, IBM and Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee have teamed up to bring blockchain technology to its customs procedures, with the aim of providing both entrepreneurs and custom authorities quality customs services.