TradeTech is the set of technologies and innovations that enable global trade to be more efficient, inclusive and equitable. The interplay of technology and trade has a long history, spanning from advances in transportation to the advent of the container to the emergence of coordinated production networks. 

This report considers modern TradeTech in two layers: (1) a first layer in which trade data and processes are transformed from analogue to digital; and (2) a second layer in which trade process optimization and synchronization occurs between different parties, and where emerging technologies play a key role. TradeTech solutions work in bundles. While the second layer depends on data generated in the first one, it is also hard to separate artificial intelligence (AI) from robotics or the internet of things (IoT) from 5G. 

Business perceptions show that many technologies have a significant impact on trade. The World Economic Forum launched a global survey 

to understand how firms are currently using technologies in international value chains and to assess which technologies will have the biggest impact on global trade. The results are being used to determine a landscape of technologies that have the biggest effect on trade in the short and medium term. According to this survey on TradeTech, conducted from June to September 2020, “fundamental” technologies such as digital documentation, digital platforms, digital payment and cloud computing are perceived as most relevant in the shorter term, along with IoT, digital services and 5G. Technologies expected to affect trade in the longer term are robotics, virtual reality, 3D printing and AI.

The major benefits of TradeTech are efficiency gains (often thanks to collaboration between different parties), the emergence of new digital products and services, positive environmental impacts and the inclusion of smaller players in trade. Yet the survey results also show the potential negative effects of TradeTech adoption in terms of job displacement and competition.