IBM's Pandemic Response: 'Trust Your Supplier' Blockchain

This pandemic has forced the world into becoming more and more digital. The reliance on online services has exploded in the past few months because of the critical role they play in keeping things running smoothly. Many businesses are working hard to migrate their operations to online platforms.

Due to COVID-19 many supply chains were completely disrupted as the suppliers suddenly ran out of crucial goods and the end consumers needed these goods now more than ever. Certain sectors, such as the companies in the food and healthcare industry need innovation in the supply chain space to stay on top of customer demands in these testing times. For example, Ford is helping the American government combat COVID-19 through the production of medical ventilators (50 000 units to be made within 100 days) and respirator masks for healthcare workers. Meeting such deadlines would be virtually impossible with their normal suppliers.

Businesses have had to move to new suppliers for their business to meet demands. However, validation of a single new supplier typically takes 30-45 days; which is time they cannot afford to lose. Blockchain could be the answer…

Blockchains introduce digital trust between parties and remove all the general trepidation that the data might be mishandled or misused which in turn reduces the friction causes friction in the usage and movement of the data at hand. Blockchain provides a trusted platform for data exchange where all sources/entities are verified, confirmed and controlled which preserves privacy.

Trust Your Supplier’s platform creates transparency between all parties involved. (Source: Trust Your Supplier)

Luckily, early adopters of this technology have got the architecture and technology in place to put their prowess for blockchain technology to the test. IBM has partnered with Chainyard to put their blockchain to use. Together they have created a network called ‘Trust Your Supplier’ or TYS. TYS is a software as a service platform that accelerates the validation and onboarding process of switching to a new supplier. The blockchain solution provides more transparency between all parties involved while slashing the sheer amount of redundant work that’s typically done by 90%. A supplier often has to provide each of its buyer companies with the same information individually. Instead,  TYS’s tamper-proof shared ledger gives all parties involved, access to all the information they need about a new supplier. The historical provenance provided for the supplier in question establishes trust between the procurement company and the supplier. Information about particular suppliers is stored in their ‘digital passport’ on the TYS platform. Additionally, TYS works on a permissioned blockchain system which allows the supplier to choose which parties they want to reveal all the information/‘digital passport’ to, giving the suppliers more control while maintaining privacy. Having a public ledger means that the information provided by the supplier can also be verified by authoritative sources such as government agencies or issuers when the supplier gives them access to their digital passport. At the end of the day, the most important goal achieved by the TYS platform is a reduction by 70% in the amount of time it takes for new suppliers to get to their first transaction with buyers. What makes this solution particularly effective is the fact that an immutable blockchain has been paired up with IBM’s AI- Watson, which has cognitive abilities that make this system a smart blockchain.

This crisis has made time a very expensive resource so innovative solutions like the TYS platform were much needed.

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