In 2013, five years after the project's inception, IBM researchers developed a platform for collecting and managing data on pharmaceutical distribution, which was a significant step towards the technology's practical application. Pharmaceutical companies, according to the program's general manager Lee Munyeon, are interested in learning "how to put data about shipments at the service of my procurement teams." The company thinks that this can prevent errors whether or whether they are placed in the appropriate container. The foundation of IBM's business is a system for expediting product shipping routes through the seaports of China, Singapore, and Indonesia.