Role of Blockchain in Supply Chain

AI is a rocket ship, and blockchain is an anchor, and that makes them perfect for each other. It seems like a weird duo to call a superhero, but they make significant impacts in compliance and auditing when coupled together. Particularly for SMEs, these obligations can pose big challenges given the limited resources at their disposal. So what exactly are we talking about here? - Smart Contracts for Real-Time Compliance: Blockchain's smart contracts can automate compliance processes by encoding regulatory requirements directly into the contract logic. - AI-Powered Regulatory Intelligence: AI can sift through vast repositories of regulatory texts, interpret evolving compliance mandates, and provide actionable insights. - Blockchain’s Audit Trails: SMEs can maintain tamper-proof audit trails of all transactions. - Real-Time Auditing and Reporting: Blockchain provides a transparent and unalterable record of transactions, while AI can automate data verification and analysis, expediting the auditing processes and ensuring accuracy. - Predictive Compliance Analytics: Employing AI's predictive analytics, SMEs can forecast potential compliance risks and implement preemptive measures. - Cross-Border Regulatory Compliance: Create a shared, region agnostic, platform for managing cross-border regulatory compliance, enabling a seamless and secure multi-jurisdictional compliance process.

Coffee supply chains don’t usually make headlines, but maybe they should. We love to talk about theoretical use cases for blockchain, but it’s far more rewarding to see the real-world results, especially at this scale. Since the project started, Lavazza Group has now recorded over 1.2 million kg of Robusta cherries on the Algorand Foundation blockchain, delivering full traceability from farm to cup.... for less than half a cent per batch.A typical entry includes over a dozen parameters, from the origin plot to the final bean size and exact weight selected for roasting. Is that much data really needed, and does it need to be on a blockchain? Actually yes. When this info is recorded (and auditable), it becomes easier to spot inefficiencies, ensure quality, and strengthen relationships across the supply chain. For the end consumer, it means knowing where your coffee came from (and how it got to your cup) without having to take someone’s word for it. And it’s not just coffee. ChoralChain is working with Grana Padano producers to track ingredients from cow to cheese wheel to ensure product authenticity. Finboot is working with palm oil producers to ensure the palm oil is not sourced from farms that are in deforestation zones - a EU requirement. Algorand’s public blockchain provides a trusted, immutable record from farm to table giving consumers confidence they are buying what they paid for and regulators the assurance and associated audit trail to proof authenticity and compliance with regulations. More reading if you’re interested: Case study: https://lnkd.in/eKH5b2xc On-chain records: https://lnkd.in/e5dTcW_B

What if you got baby formula and found out it was expired... months ago? You've been feeding your baby with the formula for weeks, and heard on the news that the labels were marked in error and the brand just issued a recall. Would you be upset? Probably. And this occurs more often than you think. The solution? Let's look at Aptamil by Danone. In 2020, they launched a farm-to-fork tracking system. The steps and customer experience are simple: 1. Shoppers scan a QR code on a baby formula pack. 2. This opens a brand page with verified information of where and when the formula was manufactured, and its journey through the supply chain. 3. After purchasing and opening the sealed baby formula pack, shoppers can then scan a second, inner QR code – triggering a one-time message, verifying the product is indeed authentic. No confusion about the product journey. No confusion about the manufacturer. No confusion about the expiration. This is how every food item should be. Each of these steps for Aptamil's baby formula is powered by blockchain. Parents (and consumers) deserve food transparency. And blockchain can deliver. #blockchain #supplychain #food  

The medical supply chain needs a makeover, and maybe that answer lies in blockchain. Blockchain allows for real-time updates on the status of products by providing a decentralized ledger where each step of a product’s journey - from manufacturing through distribution to the end-user - is recorded. The decentralized nature makes it tamper-resistant, as it cannot be altered without authorization, reducing the risk of fraud and manipulation, and enhancing the integrity of the supply chain. With transparent records, accountability is improved. All parties involved in the supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, and regulators, have access to the same records. By automating and streamlining processes such as inventory management, procurement, and logistics, blockchain reduces manual paperwork and administrative overheads. This leads to more efficient operations and cost savings, which can be redirected toward improving patient care. A great graphic for seeing the benefits of this tech in action. #Healthcare #SupplyChain #DigitalTransformation #Blockchain #Automation

#Blockchain can greatly benefit the #export and customs processes by enhancing transparency, security, and efficiency. Let's detail out all the steps of how blockchain can be utilized in this context: 1. Order Placement and Documentation: Exporters can record the order details and required documentation on the blockchain. This includes purchase orders, invoices, shipping documents, and customs declarations. 2. Supply Chain Transparency: As goods move through the supply chain, each step can be recorded as a block on the blockchain. This allows all relevant parties, including exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and customs officials, to track the shipment's progress in real-time. 3. Smart Contracts for Agreements: Ethereum's smart contracts can be used to automate and enforce agreements between different parties. For instance, exporters and freight forwarders can define terms for shipping and payment, which will be executed automatically when conditions are met. 4. Customs Pre-Approval and Verification: Exporters can submit shipping information to customs authorities through the blockchain. Customs officials can then pre-approve shipments based on the submitted data, reducing delays and expediting the customs clearance process. 5. Regulatory Compliance: Blockchain can store relevant regulations and compliance requirements for different countries. This ensures that exporters and importers are aware of the necessary regulations for each shipment, reducing the risk of non-compliance. 6. Product Authentication: Blockchain can store unique product identifiers, such as serial numbers or QR codes, which can be verified by customs officials to ensure the authenticity of the goods. 7. Electronic Document Exchange: Blockchain-based platforms can facilitate secure and tamper-proof exchange of documents between exporters, importers, and customs authorities. This eliminates the need for physical paperwork, reducing administrative burdens and the risk of document forgery. 8. Customs Duties and Payments: Blockchain can automate the calculation and payment of customs duties based on predefined rules and tariffs. Smart contracts can handle payment processing, ensuring timely and accurate payments. 9. Risk Management and Fraud Prevention: The immutable nature of blockchain makes it challenging for bad actors to manipulate shipment data or engage in fraudulent activities. This enhances security and reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions. 10. Post-Shipment Documentation: After the shipment is successfully delivered, all relevant data, including proof of delivery and customs clearance, can be permanently recorded on the blockchain. This creates an auditable and transparent record of the entire export process. By utilizing blockchain technology, the export and customs processes can become more streamlined, secure, and reliable.

I wanted to share these case studies with you on how technology simplifies Global Trade 👇 Intellectual Artificial (AI) 1. Dyson: Improved Data Analysis and Decision Making - Issue: Dyson's supply chain, product engineering, and procurement departments lacked information visibility and communication. Solution: Dyson organized data using LevaData automation and AI. This system accelerated departmental collaboration and decision-making. Results: Dyson saved money and reduced the risk on the components, ingredients, and metals. Real-time data and interactive visualizations on AI platform dashboards helped decision-making. Blockchain 1. Digital Provenance for Financial Services: The Provenance Blockchain Foundation—Difficulty: Trade finance has typically relied on outdated centralized infrastructure or paper, resulting in inefficiencies and lack of transparency. Fixation: Cosmos' Source Blockchain provides a decentralized, unchangeable ledger for financial services. Result: Smart contracts on the blockchain enable real-time tracking and settlement, cut administrative costs, and increase transparency. Provenance helps healthcare providers maintain clinical trial data and patient data safely. 2. VeChain Technology end-to-end traceability - Challenge: Tracing the product throughout the supply chain. Solution: VeChain's blockchain technology provides solid data management and a continuous view of supply chain transactions. VeChain's technology simplifies dispute settlement, record-keeping, and compliance. Shoppers Drug Mart's partnership with TruTrace Technologies reduces expenses and ensures data integrity by improving medicinal cannabis program accountability and traceability. 3. Chainlink: Decentralised Data Integration—Difficulty: Fragmented commerce ecosystems limit data exchange and product verification. Solution: Chainlink's decentralized blockchain oracle network integrates international trading systems with real data and provides CCIP and other services. Global Trade Administration 1. e2open: Multi-Enterprise Network for Trade Compliance—Challenge: Mitigating supply chain risk and complying with international trade rules. Solutions: e2open's cloud-native technology tracks billions of transactions annually and connects over 400,000 partners in a multi-enterprise network. The software helps firms operate more sustainably, effectively, and predictably. 2. CDM Software: Automating Customs Filings—Difficulty Managing US Customs' time-consuming paperwork filing process, especially for e-commerce enterprises using Section 321 for de minimis exports. Solution: CDM's Global Shipment Compliance solution automates filing and creates a single customs file format. Automation improved filing efficiency by 90% for tens of thousands of shipments per container. #ArtificialIntelligence #Blockchain #GlobalTrade #SupplyChainManagement #Logistics #AI #BlockchainTechnology #SupplyChainOptimization #TradeCompliance

As an industry we often bemoan the laborious, painfully slow, antiquated and often manual processes associated with internatonal trade. This is the world of letters of credit, cargo manifests, customs declarations, and documentary trade. Yet, this arcane segment of the B2B payments industry is quietly evolving and improving. I had a long plane ride this morning and my (digital) pile of reading included a paper from ICC DSI featuring 22 case studies showcasing how trade documentation is being digitized. I am surprised and impressed! Check out these improvements: ☑️GSBN has issued over 300,000 eBills of Lading representing $45 B in cargo for 14,000 companies. ☑️Wave BL and TradeGo are embedding digital identifiers from GLEIF in eBills of Lading fostering trust and reducing onboarding from three days to a few hours ☑️ Lloyds bank worked with WaveBL and Enigeo to eliminate paper and reduce documentary credit transaction time from 15 days to under 24 hours (yes, you read that right -- two weeks faster!) ☑️ Kanematsu Corporation is using TradeWaltz blockchain/DLT to dramatically streamline customs document processing by digitizing import permits, invoices, packing lists, and arrival notices and facilitating real time data sharing with supply chain stakeholders ☑️ Within the ASEAN trade block, use of a National Single Window to facilitate submission of trade documents for all 10 member states has saved 6 million business operation days and $150 million in costs ☑️ Hong Kong's Tradelink CDI initiative has faciliated 27,000 loan applications and reviews, resulting in HK$23.8 billion in working capital. And it has reduced the time for SME loan approvals from weeks (even months!) to days. That's just a few of the examples that caught my eye... it was very encouraging plane reading. I've provded a link to the full document in the comments. If these bureaucratic and complicated trade processes can be automated, certainly we can solve for the less cumbersome B2B use cases! Ps. I have a personal connection to maritime trade, see link to related post in the comments. (image courtesy of Amazon)