Certification company SGS and supply chain services provider Transparency-One are working together to use blockchain for supply chain. SGS is one of the largest inspection and certification companies in the world with 2018 revenues of Swiss Franc 6.7 billion ($7.4 billion).
The blockchain service is built on Transparency-One’s supply chain digitization and mapping technology. It acts as another layer of security for client data. To add additional credibility, SGS validates certain information entered into the platform, such as supplier certifications. Updated data is stored as additional transactions while retaining the history of a supply chain participant.
“Transparency-One maps the complete supply chain down to the raw material, and blockchain ensures that every step of the process is permanently recorded, providing an even higher level of data security,” said Frédéric Daniel, CTO of Transparency-One in an earlier announcement.
SGS acquired a 20% stake in Transparency-One in 2016. The combination of certifications by SGS and the supply chain platform of Transparency-One aims to drive consumer trust.
Last year, French supermarket brand Intermarché announced it is using SGS Transparency-One to map its self-branded organic products. The brand was looking for tools for managing and controlling product traceability throughout its supply chain. Intermarché is a part of the Les Mousquetaires (Three Musketeers) group.
The Intermarché initiative involved SGS collecting the social and environmental quality certificates of more than 4,200 suppliers.
“Our solution, in partnership with Transparency-One, allows us to create a detailed map of all the different entities involved a supply chain, collect and verify suppliers’ certifications, and make targeted recommendations based on each supplier’s control of the process. It’s the most advanced solution on the market today, a new social network for suppliers,” said Guy Escarfail, Vice President, Global Head of SGS Digital Supply Chain Solutions in December 2018.
SGS competitor, Norway’s DNV GL started a similar project last year. It developed a supply chain assurance platform for packaged goods using blockchain technology with help from Chinese blockchain firm VeChain. DNV GL launched “My Story” built on the VeChain blockchain for brands to record and evidence sustainability and quality by logging proof of a product’s supply chain and origins. DNV is a VeChain investor.
Meanwhile, SGS is also part of komgo, a blockchain-based trade finance platform initially targeting the oil sector. Komgo is backed by Shell, Société Générale, Chevron and BNP Paribas among other big names.
