Blockchain in practice

LINKING THE CHAIN

BLOCKCHAIN • ELEMICA AND CROSSINX ARE TESTING THE USE OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY TO STREAMLINE DOCUMENT AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE ALONG THE SUPPLY CHAIN

AS DIGITISATION PROCEEDS in the chemical supply chain, talk has inevitably turned to the potential to use blockchain techniques to offset persistent concerns about confidentiality and trust in the use of proprietary data. Yet there also seems to be widespread fear of this new technique, which has the potential to transform collaboration through the supply chain via the use of tamper-proof, verifiable distributed ledgers.

Perhaps what is needed is an example of how blockchain can work in practice, and that is something that Elemica and crossinx have been working on. The two parties have recently announced the successful completion of a pilot project involving leading international chemical manufacturers; wider application of the project will, the companies say, help to redefine B2B processes and support digital transformation.

In the project, Elemica, the leading digital supply network for process manufacturing industries, and crossinx, a network for financial business collaboration solutions, exist as nodes on a public blockchain, connecting structured data with unstructured data, such as documents, to enable multitier payment. In the pilot, two large chemical companies facilitated document and data transfer of invoices, purchase orders, delivery tenders and proof-of-delivery posts. With the ability to connect to a digital network, blockchain functionality can be made accessible to support a many-to-many connection of companies, facilitating payment processing.

“Similar to any new technology, there is a period of learning and evolution before adoption,” says Arun Samuga, CTO of Elemica. “We like what we see so far and are identifying areas of clear applicability of the technology.”

SMART SOLUTIONS Blockchain technology can be used to break supply chain data out of silos and reveal this information to all trading partners regardless of the network they are connected to. “Our goal is to use the blockchain to automate document exchange along the supply chain and make it more transparent. This is the basis for our supply chain finance solutions,” explains Marcus Laube, CEO and founder of crossinx.

The benefits of this capability with blockchain could lead to: • employing a trustless, intermediaryfree, decentralised standard to exchange information between different stakeholders • simplifying existing business processes and making them smarter • auto-ordering based on IoT information • automated PO confirmations • auto-invoice creation based on pickup or proof of delivery • auto-matching of invoices • automated payments • extending the concept to other complementary decentralised networks and from IoT devices The success of the blockchain pilot project shows that the new technology can bring value to supply chains and businesses through the sharing of information, workflows and economies, the partners say.

Crossinx says it brings the accounting of private and public sectors to the next level with a business network unique to the German-speaking market. A team of 100 multinational employees help companies digitise their document-based finance and business processes. With over 150,000 connected companies, an invoice volume of €25bn and an expansion rate of 100 per cent, the company is a leading provider for financial business collaboration.

Elemica is the leading digital supply network for the process manufacturing industries. Elemica accelerates digital transformation by connecting, automating, anticipating and then transforming interbusiness supply chain processes for the products they buy, sell, and move. Launched in 2000, its customers now process over $500bn in commerce annually on the network. HCB www.elemica.com www.crossinx.com