IBM has now teamed up with a Blockchain-specialist company, Chainyard, to launch “Trust Your Supplier” (TYS) and will initially not offer a track and trace facility, but focus on the onboarding of suppliers, and help make the whole validation process more efficient. The intention is, by using Blockchain technology to create an immutable and decentralised database, that can replace the largely paper-based systems. Currently, many firms have manual records to verify identities, track documents (like ISO certifications), record bank account details, tax certificates and insurance policy data, throughout the lifecycle of a supplier, according to IBM. Using independent specialists, like Dun & Bradstreet, Ecovadis and Rapid Ratings, verification of the suppliers’ information is assembled.

It is hoped that IBM’s new Blockchain-powered platform will be able to reduce the time it takes to onboard a client by 70% to 80%, and potentially save 50% of the cost of administration as, in effect, TYS is creating a “digital passport” for each of its suppliers.

IBM has an impressive list of founding partners including Anheuser-Busch, Cisco, InBev, GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, Nokia, Schneider Electric and Vodafone, all who have agreed to start using the TYS platform. These firms have over 18,000 suppliers between them and it is the intention to launch TYS initially with the 4,000 suppliers that IBM deals within the USA.

One of the key advantages of TYS is that the information about suppliers is updated continuously in real-time by all the users of the platform, instead of being checked and amended annually, increasing the real-time accuracy of the data.

Gartner (global research and consulting firm) predicted that, by 2023, Blockchain technology will be supporting over $2 trillion worth of goods through supply chains worldwide.

The US pharmaceutical industry is worth over $450billion p.a., according to the independent statistical data company, Statista.

The US Drug Supply-Chain Act, which was announced back in 2013, is due to come into force in 2023, and the FDA is looking at how Blockchain technology can be harnessed to provide greater transparency and also evaluate methods to enhance the safety and security of the drug supply chain. According to the FDA Pilot Program website, “FDA’s DSCSA Pilot Project Program is intended to assist drug supply chain stakeholders, including FDA, in developing the electronic, interoperable system that will identify and trace certain prescription drugs as they are distributed within the United States.”

The intention is to reduce the time taken to track and trace stocks of pharmaceutical drugs and monitor the drugs’ integrity i.e. ensure they are kept at the right temperature. It is hoped that the results of the project will be made available by the end of 2019.

This is yet another example of where governmental bodies (in this case the FDA) are actively working with commercial organisations, using Blockchain technology to meet common goals and requirements. If this project is successful it will enable greater transparency, while improving the efficiency of the pharmaceutical drug sector.

A Blockchain platform offers the promise of greater transparency of supplies while not compromising the privacy of users.

While medical cannabis has been legal since 2001 in Canada, using cannabis for recreational purposes was only legalised in 2018. According to government data, 5.4 million Canadians have bought cannabis since October 2018, and 600,000 have done so for the first time. However, the Canadian government is insisting that companies keep a monthly record on how much marijuana they have grown, harvested, sold, destroyed, used for research purposes or lost to theft. 

Cannabis sales are expected to reach over Can$7 billion next year and given the various data hacks and cyber-attacks the Canadian government are looking at how a Blockchain-powered platform can help both the private and public sector maintain confidence and reporting in this recently legalised industry. Canada is one of the first governments to legalise recreational use of cannabis, so no doubt other countries are monitoring the pros and cons in order to decide if they legalise cannabis for recreational use too!

Alibaba has been experimenting with Blockchain for a while with its Food Trust Framework as it tries to improve transparency, help customers track goods and ensure their authenticity. Using QR codes customers will be able to scan a good and have greater certainty over a product's provenance.

Given Alibaba’s distribution and financial clout, one wonders how long it will be before they launch the AliCoin as a possible way to encourage and reward customers in some form of loyalty scheme. An AliCoin could then be exchanged for goods and services as Alibaba continues its expansion into banking and financial services with Alipay.