Every day, solution providers continue to research, develop, and integrate “Industry 4.0” technologies, like 3-D printing, Blockchain distributed digital ledgers, cognitive capabilities, connected devices, and robotics within sourcing, procurement, and payables / accounts payables business tools, giving rise to a new generation of supply management tools, dubbed “Procurement 4.0.” Blockchain ledgers, in particular, now rival “artificial intelligence” as the tech trend of modern business era, making the Blockchain solutions market fertile ground for big tech companies and enterprising start-ups, alike. As a result, there is a nearly constant stream of Blockchain news emanating every week. And so, the CPO Rising editorial team thought that it’d be fun and worthwhile to cover these developments in a separate and semi-regular technology round-up, dubbed, When Blockchain Meets Supply Chain. Enjoy!
SAP Launches Cloud-Based Blockchain Platform
Last week at SAP’s annual SAPPHIRE user conference, the Germany-based enterprise software solution provider announced the general availability of its cloud-based SAP Leonardo Blockchain Services. The platform is meant to serve as a foundational element for enterprises, including sourcing and procurement teams, that are interested in initial Blockchain use cases, like establishing product provenance and driving track and trace and auditing, plus other yet-to-be proven use cases. To do this, and to maintain room for future innovations, SAP developers have made its Blockchain platform agnostic: companies can integrate with the open-source Hyperledger, MultiChain, or any other Blockchain-based distributed digital ledger based on enterprise needs or wishes. As a result, they can maintain flexibility moving forward, depending on how open or closed, and how centralized or decentralized an enterprise wants for its Blockchain.
DHL Develops Global Blockchain Trade Finance Platform with TradeIX
Also last week, DHL, the Germany-based logistics and postal services company, announced at the Money20/20 conference in Amsterdam its partnership with the global Blockchain trade finance platform, TradeIX, to drive efficiency and transparency into global supply chains. Under the terms of the partnership, DHL will leverage TradeIX’s trade finance platform to embed funding and risk mitigation capabilities within the platform in order to drive automation, efficiency, transparency, and visibility into previously opaque business processes, joining FedEx in its development of Blockchain-based trade platforms.
FoodLogiQ Launches Blockchain Pilot for Food Services Companies
FoodLogiQ, a cloud-based supply chain solutions provider that caters (pun intended) to food services companies, announced that it has launched a Blockchain-based pilot program to drive supply chain traceability. The pilot program is being shepherded by FoodLogiQ Labs, its in-house research and development center, to explore Blockchain-based applications for various use cases. One of its first pilot partners, fast-casual sandwich giant, Subway, is on board to enable its supplier base to track and trace food products from source to restaurant. Other partners include Tyson Foods and Testo. Using FoodLogiQ’s Blockchain-based platform, pilot participants have been able to track more than 10,000 traceability points on the platform.
Moog Develops VeriPart, a Blockchain-based Tracking Tool for Aerospace Manufacturing Suppliers
There is a recent Reuters article highlighting the growing importance of Blockchain distributed digital ledgers to aerospace suppliers and manufacturing organizations as a way to track and trace parts and components as they make their way across the global supply chain. At the front of this endeavor is a U.S.-based flight control systems manufacturer, Moog, which after working with industry partners, has developed a Blockchain-based aircraft part track and trace tool dubbed VeriPart.
Initially, VeriPart is being used to track and trace 3-D printed components that are ultimately used in aircraft manufacturing. But Moog is also working with aerospace heavyweights, like Airbus and Rolls Royce, to further develop and scale Blockchain for the industry. Among the early (but still to be scaled) applications is being able to track part and component lifecycles, from the time it was manufactured and shipped to the time it was attached to a plane and the length of time it spent in service.
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