Emerging data technologies like blockchain have an immense potential to help solve critical supply chain problems, like tracing the origin and real-time status of products, reducing fraud and unwanted costs, and increasing data availability, by providing solutions to the centralized approach.
Here is the list of seven renowned companies that are using blockchain in their supply chain:
- Maersk
- Walmart
- FedEx
- Bext360
- UPS
- Nestlé
- De Beers
According to Gartner, 30% of manufacturing companies with over $5 billion in revenue will have implemented projects leveraging blockchain by 2023.
In this article, we list some companies that use blockchain for their supply chain and understand why blockchain is valuable in the supply chain.
Also read: How Blockchain Is Revolutionising the Transportation and Logistics Industry
Which companies use blockchain in the supply chain?
Here are some companies along with their supply chain blockchain projects:
Maersk
Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, developed and implemented a blockchain product with tech giant IBM in 2015, in an effort to reduce shipping costs and revamp their business model by serving their large network of shippers. The company used the Hyperledger Fabric framework to complete the test of a system to manage a company’s cargo and was successfully able to extract remote shipping data.
Maersk and IBM also jointly developed a neutral industry platform TradeLens to enhance the secure exchange of information among supply chain stakeholders and enable greater collaboration and trust. The blockchain-enabled platform helps in inventory management and enables suppliers to generate real-time updates on shipments.
Walmart
The Walmart consortium used blockchain technology to track pork movements for its Chinese supply chain in 2016 in conjunction with IBM, JD, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. As a collaborative effort, the companies worked with food supply chain providers and regulators to safeguard China’s food ecosystem and develop standards, solutions, and collaborations. The company later extended it to spinach and lettuce suppliers. The entire process is automated, aiming to enhance supply chain transparency and reduce paper waste.
FedEx
FedEx, one of the largest shipping enterprises, launched a Blockchain-powered program after joining Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help customers resolve disputes more effectively and guard its chain of custody by clarifying the data on the blockchain. The company collaborated with Hyperledger to promote cross-industry blockchain technologies.
Bext360
Bext360 uses blockchain technology for easy traceability and supply-chain visibility by monitoring all the elements of the coffee trade. Using cryptocurrencies in the supply chain ensures direct payment to the farmers after the sale of their products. With its SaaS platform, the company provides traceability and sustainability metrics, such as carbon footprint, wages, and usage of water and electricity.
Also read: Benefits of Blockchain Payments Over Traditional Payment Methods
UPS
United Parcel Service (UPS) joined hands with BiTA in 2017 to develop industry standards and protocols and integrate blockchain platforms with established technologies. This move was part of its efforts to leverage its logistics network, handle transactions swiftly and reduce errors, lower labor costs, and increase transparency among key supply chain stakeholders.
Nestlé
Nestlé, one of the world’s biggest food giants, dived into blockchain by partnering with OpenSC, an innovative blockchain platform to revolutionize supply chain transparency for consumers. The pilot project focused on tracing milk from New Zealand producers to Middle Eastern warehouses and factories. The company worked with IBM Food Trust in 2017 to get access to actionable food supply chain data.
De Beers
De Beers, a leading global diamond mining firm, uses blockchain for tamper-proof source assurance via its Tracr platform, which is the world’s only distributed diamond blockchain. With Tracr, De Beers provides 100% source assurance for its diamonds across the value chain. The platform creates an individual diamond ID based on the color, clarity, and carat, of every diamond, and integrates this with the participants’ existing systems. That way, Tracr creates a digital trail for each physical diamond, securing its provenance and traceability.
Why use blockchain in the supply chain?
Here are some of the ways blockchains help in supply chain management:
- Governance: Using smart contracts, supply chains can self-enforce transactions, manage supply chain relationships automatically, and define governance rules for individual transactions in a flexible manner. This helps in changing ownership, automating procedures, and improving shipments, arrivals, and departures.
- End-to-end traceability: With blockchain technology, goods can be traced efficiently from stores to specific manufacturers throughout their lifecycle. Data on the location of the goods as well as interactions between supply chain participants are highly accurate and credible since every batch of products is equipped with a tag.
- Provenance: Provenance refers to the tracking of every single modification made to the original data to verify its authenticity and validity. Blockchain provides easy trackability of goods-related data and transactions with its time stamping and immutability features.
- Automation: Blockchain can enable the automation of processes such as payments and invoicing by eliminating paperwork and adhering to compliance with transactions. It can oversee the workflow of complex networks that could otherwise result in errors or manipulation.
Also read: How Blockchain Is Revolutionising the Transportation and Logistics Industry
Which blockchain is best for the supply chain?
Some of the best blockchain platforms for supply chain tracking include Ethereum and IBM blockchain, which ensure supply chain transparency, high-speed transactions, quality control and quality assurance, and traceability.
Conclusion
Global supply chains are an integral part of the world economy linking producers to consumers and aligning supply with demand. Today, there’s a whole philosophy of traditional supply chains being associated with siloed data, high logistics costs, equipment availability, and lack of visibility amidst continuing disruptions and rising inflation. But the good news? It’s changing with technologies like blockchain.