Accenture and Digital Ventures, a fintech subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank, have created a blockchain to digitize the paperwork for procurement. The system is a fully integrated procure-to-pay solution using R3’s Corda platform.
The project was developed in conjunction with Thai conglomerate SCG and is in use with some of their suppliers.
Digital Ventures Managing Director Paisal Kiattananan said: “With outstanding features in terms of security and transparency, the system will enable all parties involved in the procurement process to view each step simultaneously. The system will automatically help verify documents, such as purchase orders, goods receipts, and invoices, significantly increasing efficiency while reducing resource consumption.”
By automating the process, human errors are avoided, and the need for reconciliations of invoices between organizations is removed. SCG said that tests so far demonstrated accelerated transactions and a 50% reduction in resources needed. Also once transactions are approved, the supplier automatically receives payment on the due date.
Applying for trade finance should be quicker, because all the documentation is already available on the system.
“We expect to be able to scale this innovative blockchain solution and leverage it for other functions beyond just procurement, including order-to-cash, international money transfer and trade finance”, said Divyesh Vithlani, head of Accenture’s Financial Services practice in the ASEAN region.
The platform was designed and developed in just five months with input from R3. This included integrating multiple systems for purchase orders, goods receipts, invoices and payments.
