One of US’ leading rail transportation companies, Norfolk Southern, is the latest to jump on the Blockchain bandwagon. The company has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), a trade association for developing standards and education in blockchain technologies.
"Norfolk Southern's membership with BiTA will help us identify opportunities where blockchain can be used to improve the transportation supply-chain for our customers," said Fred Ehlers, company’s vice president information technology and chief information officer.
Blockchain technologies create a permanent, digital ledger of transactions that can be securely shared among a distributed network of computers. BiTA brings together freight and transportation companies that are working towards the development of blockchain technology to advance supply-chain efficiencies.
"As BiTA membership has grown, companies in all areas of the supply-chain have joined forces to help us work toward common blockchain standards that will define the future of freight movement," said Chris Burruss, president of BiTA. "Norfolk Southern brings a level of intermodal and rail expertise to the Alliance that will benefit all members and the industry as a whole as we move toward a common framework. We look forward to engaging with them as we move forward."
A consortium of more than 250 transportation and logistics companies, BiTA seeks to cultivate a set of industry benchmarks, educate the market, and advance blockchain technology and its transportation and logistics applications within the supply-chain.