Josias N Dewey is a Partner in Holland &
Knight's
Miami office
Jameson B Rice is an Associate in Holland &
Knight's
Tampa office
Three powerful technologies are being combined to drive a supply
chain evolution: (1) blockchain and distributed ledger technology;
(2) the Internet of Things ("IoT"); and (3) powerful
machine learning capable cognitive tools (e.g., IBM's
Watson) that are capable of analyzing vast amounts of data that
humans simply can't do. The transformation occurring in supply
chain management also impacts the trade finance that supports it.
Approximately 80-90% of global trade is reliant on trade
finance.
This transformation is not simply about converting from paper
documents, such as letters of credit and bills of lading, to
electronic documents. To the contrary, the changes that are
occurring are about new ways that participants in supply chains can
share information in a very granular and controlled manner,
utilizing novel technology that
