Media Release: TBSX3 and 1-Stop Connections form a new alliance to battle fake product in the supply chain using blockchain

Sunday, June 25, 2017

TBSX3 and 1-Stop Connections form a new alliance to battle fake product in the supply chain using blockchain

 https://www.1-stop.biz/news/media-release-tbsx3-and-1-stop-connections-form-a-new-alliance-to-battle-fake-product-in-the-supply-chain-using-blockchain/

Sydney, (22 June 2017): A new alliance has been formed between 1-Stop Connections, a global leader in integrated port logistics and TBSx3, which is developing a blockchain-based security architecture, designed to combat fake products, in particular fake medicines.

Interpol estimates fake medicines now kill one million people a year.

The alliance comes less than a month after the successful completion of a global road and sea supply chain trial of the TBSx3 technology. In that trial, the TBSx3 security architecture tracked the movement of bottled wine from the wine growing region of Coonawarra in rural South Australia to the port of Qingdao in north-eastern China.

Partners in the successful trial included: DP World Australia (one of the five largest port operators in the world), DB Schenker (No.1 in European land transport and No.3 in global air and sea freight), Hamburg Sud (one of the world's 10 largest container shipping lines) and Australian wine producer Ius, which exports seven product lines into the rapidly growing Chinese wine market. KPMG verified the custodial handovers for the integrity of the product in the 8,100-km. chain, validated the product at the end of the chain and confirmed that the system could potentially detect fake or duplicated product.

1-Stop Connections has developed multi-faceted platforms to integrate all logistic supply chain information for port operations. The company has grown to dominate the New Zealand and Australian markets and it has a rapidly growing presence in South East Asia: in New Zealand 1-Stop is an information logistics hub for 30% of all port container traffic, in Australia 90% and in the Port of Manila-100%.

The new alliance between 1-Stop Connections and TBSx3 is "an important step in building a global consortium to ensure the integrity of product at every step of a supply chain from the farm and factory gate to the consumer," said TBSx3 founder and director, Mr. Mark Toohey.

"There is a dark underside of the irrepressible growth in global supply chains. Sea freight volumes have increased six-fold in 50 years. This huge growth has created opportunities for expertly packaged fake product including fake medicine that is killing huge numbers of people each year."

 "Sadly, making fake medicine is very lucrative.  The Paris based International Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) has researched that for US$1,000 invested in the trafficking of counterfeit heroin the return could be US$20,000, for counterfeit cigarettes the return could be US$43,000, but for counterfeit drugs the return could be between US$200,000 and $450,000."

"As a direct result of this cascade of real profits from fake product there is a constant, well resourced, highly sophisticated, assault upon global supply chains by ruthless and utterly amoral criminal gangs."

"In February, this year it was revealed that fake Viagra tablets entered the legitimate supply chain for the Sydney Children's Hospital: Viagra is used to control pulmonary hypertension. The fake tablets were only discovered by an experienced and alert pharmacist who became suspicious that they were grittier than usual."

"The international police agency, Interpol estimates that each year one million people die from fake medicine: The World Health Organisation (WH0) estimates that of the people who die every year from malaria, one of the three great global killers, 200,000 die as a result of taking fake anti-malarials."

"Malaria kills one child dies every 30 seconds." 

The alliance between 1-Stop and TBSx3 is "a new and powerful weapon against the penetration of supply chains by fake product," according to 1-Stop Connections CEO Mr. Michael Bouari.

"We have been keen to explore how blockchain technology could be best used in relation to trade."

"A new security benchmark for global supply chains is created when we combine TBSx3's cryptography and blockchain security with our highly secure port community system ,- 1-Stop's flagship product - Vehicle Booking System (VBS) .," he said.

It is a crucial alliance as it combines security and efficiency as tools to defeat criminals. We know it is important that we reduce the time goods are delayed during custodial handovers and transshipment: a 2015 European union report found that organized crime groups 'frequently use free trade zones to transship, label and obscure the port of origin' of illegal goods.'

"1-Stop VBS dramatically cuts down on the time goods must spend in transshipment and integrates real time information about the status of goods anywhere within a port ecosystem," Mr.Bouari said.

"When goods can be moved quickly and when everyone within a port ecosystem knows exactly where they are, the opportunity to substitute fake for real is dramatically reduced. There is far less time for substitution and the identity of who is trying to affect the substitution can be better detected."

"The efficiency and the community dividend that can result from reduced custodial handover and turnaround time was dramatically shown in Manila where traffic congestion in and around the port became so bad that in 2014 a Truck Ban was imposed disallowing any truck movements in an out of the port during certain times of the day."   

"In 2015 in the first month after 1-Stop Connection's Vehicle Booking System VBS was implemented, terminal volumes were up 18% with the same equipment and labor: by this month it has increased by 44%. Truck trips have increased from one per 24 hours to two, import dwell times on the quayside, which were at eight to 16 days, have been reduced to four days."

"And at any time during those four days everyone who is a legitimate part of the port ecosystem, knows what is being shipped, where it is and who is handling it."

"The result of implementing a port-wide booking system has been a dramatic reduction in both traffic congestion and traffic pollution so that in less than six months, the system received full endorsement by the 17 mayors of Manila."

"This means that if truck drivers have a system booking, they are exempted from the truck ban through metro Manila and it also means that all legitimate actors in the supply chain know where a truck is, who is driving it, who owns it, where it comes from and to where it is going."

"This alliance between 1-Stop and TBSx3 is a powerful weapon against the 'made-men' of fake for whom contract killing means faking the necessities of life- food, medicine and other essential products."

"We are keen to see how TBSx3's dynamic distributed ledger, can help our industry monitor the vital parts of the supply chain. We all need even better data on the what, where, when and who. Security will be strengthened if we have a deeper and more transparent understanding of what is being delivered, where it is, when it began the journey, when it was handed over along the chain, when it will arrive and who is at any time responsible for it – from beginning to end.

The technology being developed by TBSx3 is of great interest because it combines the data currently held in silos by the various supply chain participants. Now we will all be able to have a new level of trusted transparency across the entire supply chain."

About TBSx3

The company was founded by Sydney based lawyer Mark Toohey, Chairman of Adroit Lawyers. He is an experienced General Counsel for publicly listed media and technology companies. TBSx3 research teams headquartered in Sydney are working with global partners, to develop a blockchain-enabled security architecture, which can track and monitor goods as they move along the supply chain and validate the integrity of product at any custodial point.

About 1-Stop Connections

1-Stop is a globally recognized leader in innovating and delivering integrated and secure solutions which will increase productivity and efficiency gains in the port community. Founded in 2002, 1-Stop Connections customer base now includes 17 shipping lines (all shipping lines for the Asia Oceania route), 13 container terminals in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, 6,122 road carriers, 1,600 freight forwarders, 1980 importers and exporters, 9 rail operators and 39 container parks and depots.

For media enquiries please contact:

TBSX3                                                                                                    1-Stop Connections

Russell Cowan:                                                                                  Alicia Mingare  

MOB: + 61 424 731 117                                                                 MOB: +61 419 840 805

Email: russell@tbsx3.com                                                             Email: amingare@1-stop.com

Website: www.1-stop.com