Walmart China Supply Chain to be Tracked using Blockchain Technology
Walmart China announced this week, that they will now track their supply chain using VeChain’s Thor Blockchain.
The announcement outlines the collaboration called, “Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform (WCBTP)”, will be a collaboration between Walmart China, VeChain, PwC, Inner Mongolia Kerchin, and the China Chain-Store & Franchise Association. At initial launch, Walmart announced that there will be over 23 product lines that will be tracked by the blockchain platform, with over 100 extra products to be included by the end of the year.
VeChain COO, Kevin Feng, commented saying “The launch of the Blockchain Traceability Platform by Walmart China, the world-class retail giant, is of great significance to the commercial application of blockchain technology. VeChain will work with Walmart China to actively take heed of the call of the government, by utilizing technology to promote the traceability of fresh food, and to provide innovative solutions for the traceability platform through digital technology, so as to generate more transparent and reassuring consumption experience.”
The collaboration follows Walmart’s global push to implement Distributed Ledger Technology in other areas of the world, as Walmart US has looked at implementing a blockchain based supply chain for their Delivery Drones and live food department. Walmart US most recently announced its collaborationwith IBM, FDA, KPMG and the world’s oldest pharma company Merck, whereby they will look to build a proof-of-concept blockchain network to share and track data on the distribution of prescription drugs. The aim of the collaboration is to speed up the process of tracking inventory, as well as providing accuracy of data shared between members of the supply chain and the integrity of products.
Global Solutions leader for IBM’s Blockchain in Healthcare & Life Science, Mark Treshock, stated: “that blockchain technology not only enables an efficient basis for tracing pharma products on the supply chain but also allows for the tracking of connections between network participants without revealing the data itself.”
Sources: prnewswire.com, cointelegraph.com