FedEx Enters Hedera Network Council With Eye on Supply Chain Transformation

In brief

• FedEx has joined the Hedera Council and will run a network node and participate in governance.
• The council also has notable corporate members like Google, Dell, and IBM.
• FedEx sees opportunity for distributed ledger tech to power supply chain improvements.

Shipping giant FedEx Corp. announced Friday that it has joined Hedera Council, working alongside other companies and builders to govern the Hedera distributed ledger network. According to the company, the move supports FedEx’s vision of enabling global commerce to operate at digital speed rather than relying on traditional paper-based processes. Supply chain optimization has long been a key narrative around the promise of distributed ledger technology, including blockchain networks. “The digital transformation of global supply chains is inevitable,” said Vishal Talwar, executive VP and chief digital and information officer of FedEx Corp., and president of FedEx Dataworks, in a statement. “As supply chains become increasingly digital-native, trusted data must be shared and verified across many parties without increasing risk or centralizing control.” 

“Hedera provides a neutral, enterprise-grade trust layer that enables verification at global scale,” he added, “while allowing organizations like FedEx to continue building differentiated capabilities on top.” Through its council participation, FedEx will contribute its expertise toward building open, cooperative digital infrastructure for global supply chains. As a council member, FedEx will run a network node and participate in governance decisions alongside other members. “FedEx brings deep operational insight into global logistics and commerce, and their perspective will be valuable as the industry transitions toward digitally native supply chains,” said Hedera Council President Tom Sylvester, in a release. “We look forward to working together to advance trusted, interoperable data verification that supports collaboration across industries and jurisdictions.” The Hedera Council has attracted a number of prominent corporate members, including Google, IBM, Dell Technologies, LG, Deutsche Telekom, and game publisher Ubisoft.

Hedera’s HBAR token is down about 1% on the day to a recent price of $0.094, but up 7% over the last week. The coin remains 83% off its all-time high price of nearly $0.57 set in 2021.