FedEx Blockchain Strategist Sees Teamwork as Key to Developing Blockchain Business Models

Published at: May 20, 2019

A senior executive from American delivery services company FedEx is unconvinced about the benefits of blockchain technology in its present form, Memphis-based local news outlet Commercial Appeal reported on May 20.

In a new interview, the firm’s dedicated blockchain strategist, Dale Chrystie, said FedEx remains pragmatic about blockchain despite its previous efforts to integrate it.

As it stands, conventional processes covering the shipping database aspect of its operations are superior, at least in part due to the nascent stage of blockchain.

“To kind of burst the bubble, it’s not our only database, it’s not our best database, it’s not currently very fast or very scalable and it’s not very mature, right?” Chrystie said.

His words echoed those of both FedEx CEO Fred Smith and CIO Rob Carter, whose previous comments on blockchain Cointelegraph reported on last year and last month respectively.

While advocating for industry-wide standards and acceptance of the new technology, Carter understands the majority of progress is yet to occur.

“This technology is still in its early days but has immense potential to transform cross border commerce by reducing friction and increasing integrity in how things move around the world,” Carter wrote in an April LinkedIn post.

Chrystie agreed on the need for cooperation.

“Yes, everyone wants to monetize this technology, but we’re all going to have to work together to get it built. That’s why I refer to blockchain as a team sport,” he added. Chrystie continued:

“Once it is built, a lot of people will be able to figure out a business model for it. Right now, it’s not built.”

As Cointelegraph reported, various large scale trials are underway — or have already completed — focusing on blockchain’s role in international shipping and supply chains more widely.

For its part, FedEx joined enterprise blockchain ecosystem Hyperledger in September 2018, while a year previously, it became a member of the Canada-based Blockchain Research Institute.

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