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!
Peer Ledger and PAMP Tap Blockchain to Track and Trace Precious Metals
Earlier last month, Peer Ledger, a Canada-based Blockchain solution provider, and Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux (PAMP), a Switzerland-based bullion (gold and silver) refiner and trader, informed us that they are co-developing a Blockchain-based global supply chain risk management platform to track, trace, and authenticate precious metals, such as gold and silver. To do this, PAMP is integrating Peer Ledger’s MIMOSI Responsible Sourcing Platform, which is a set of API-based tools that provide access to the Hyperledger Blockchain, into its own precious metals tracking, tracing, and authentication tools.
This will allow buyers and suppliers to upload documentary evidence to support due diligence and product certifications, access supplier questionnaires, and visual aides to support track-and-trace. It will provide auditors and regulators with access to the Blockchain to verify the sourcing methods used to procure a precious metal product. It will also provide PAMP customers to scan products with VERISCAN, an iPhone app, to determine the products’ authenticity and provenance and confirm that it was responsibly sourced.
This collaboration is said to help overcome three critical challenges for buyers, suppliers, consumers, and everyone in between: 1) providing accurate and verifiable metals traceability for key stakeholders, 2) preventing counterfeit products from entering the supply chain, and 3) supporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, especially those concerning quality of human life.
Bonafi Seeks to Authenticate Products Using Blockchain
Speaking of counterfeits goods, Blockchain startup Bonafi (pronounced bona-fy) is applying Blockchain technology to establish product provenance and track and trace them as they move across the supply chain — for consumers and retailers. The Los Angeles-based company, which launched in 2018, combines CryptoTag technology with a mobile application and a Blockchain platform to empower many stakeholders — manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers, etc. — to authenticate that goods and products manufactured, shipped, and delivered are the real deal.
Manufacturers insert a CryptoTag — an encrypted tag that sends radio frequencies — into the device. When the consumer receives the product, they scan it using a Bona app on their phone, which then sends data to Bonafi’s Blockchain platform. Stakeholders across the supply chain can also scan the tag and update its status as it makes its way through the chain. Bonafi officials state that CryptoTags cannot be duplicated or spoofed, as they are encoded with a cryptographic algorithm, unlike other wireless data transmission methods (e.g., QR Code, NFC, etc.).
Citizens Reserve Launches SUKU, a Blockchain-based Supply Chain Platform
In other news, Citizens Reserve, a company founded by two Deloitte consultants who headed up the firm’s Blockchain practice, announced the release of SUKU, their Blockchain-based supply chain management platform. SUKU is a decentralized network that will leverage both the ethereum and quorum Blockchains in an effort to provide buyers and suppliers with real-time data on the location of goods traveling through various supply chains. It also features a “permissioned marketplace” with an integrated bid-and-purchase capability (quorum), as well as a smart contracts capability (ethereum) that, together, provides users with a buyer/supplier network, or as Citizens Reserve calls it, “supply chain-as-a-service.” Citizens Reserve is already being offered as a marketplace for the defense industry, which is in itself a highly distributed supply chain requiring robust security and trust protocols.
MasterCard Receives Patents for Blockchain-based B2B Platform
Card giant, MasterCard recently announced via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that it has won several patents for its Blockchain technology solution that it has been offering via its API. Through the MasterCard Blockchain technology, payment details are only shared between transaction participants and provide a fully auditable ledger of those transactions. In September 2017, when MasterCard applied for its patents, it had integrated its Blockchain with their payment network of 22,000 financial institutions. This combination offers partners more flexibility, while also providing a safer and more secure solution. MasterCard announced last year that it would initially implement the technology in the B2B space, with the hope that it would complement their existing capabilities, like their virtual cards, to support cross-border, B2B payment flows.
Blockchain-Based Global Food Tracking Systems “Ripe” for Investment
Late last month, Forbes wrote an article profiling Ripe.io, a Blockchain-based food supply tracking company, and the $2.4 million investment it received from Maersk Growth, the capital venture arm of the Danish shipping container company Maersk, and a Chicago-based food innovation hub, Relish Works. Company founders, some of which hailed from the financial services industry, wanted to harness the power, speed, and transparency of Blockchain (developed for the trade of cryptocurrencies) for food procurement and the global food supply chain.
Blockchain, according to company officials, Blockchain can be used to track , monitor, and trace food products as they make their way across the various food supply chains. Users can adopt Blockchain to prevent or manage food waste, assist with product recalls, and even use them to differentiate themselves within markets and go beyond traditional marketing, like “all natural” and “organic.” With Blockchain, retailers can provide their customers with a way to track, trace, and authenticate goods shipped and purchased, and help them to ensure that what they buy is not harmful to people or the environment.
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