FedEx Plans to Deploy Blockchain Technology as Part of Its Innovation Effort

During the last few months, there has been considerable discussion on how mail and delivery service providers could integrate blockchain technology in order to improve its services and offer customers lower costs, quicker service and additional transparency.

FedEx actively considering blockchain deployment

FedEx hasn’t had a very good year, considering the high-profile cyberattack that took place last summer at the TNT express branch in Europe. However, its CEO is confident that things are back to normal, regardless of the expanding cost of integrating TNT into the FedEx operation. Reports indicate that the estimated cost of doing so over the next 4 years has increased from approximately US$800 million to over US$1.4 billion. Apart from introducing autonomous vehicles for package delivery, FedEx now needs to further improve its IT infrastructure and offer better services to its customers.

To that end, Robert Carter, FedEx’s CIO, stated:

On the heels of the cyber-attack, we’ve become much more aggressive about improving the security posture, reliability and speeding up the integration of the technology platforms. We’ve been successful on all three fronts. We’re going very aggressively at moving the TNT enterprise to the more stable and reliable FedEx systems.

Moreover, as part of its innovation plan, FedEx will integrate blockchain technology. Carter stated that “blockchain represents a significant opportunity in the custodial control and chain of control for supply chain shipments” and that it can provide an enhancement of its current global settlement and payment systems. Therefore, beta testing and further research are key priorities for the company. FedEx is already a member of both the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance and the Blockchain Research Institute.

It is expected that FedEx will begin introducing blockchain technology next year.