Last week, Vodafone said it is using the Trust Your Supplier blockchain platform to promote and verify its suppliers. The initiative is part of a diversity and inclusion project by the company to increase the participation of women in the technology sector.
Launched last year, Trust Your Supplier was developed by blockchain firm Chainyard in partnership with IBM. The platform aims to enable the management of suppliers and their qualifications. It will facilitate the verification and validation of supplier credentials for onboarding.
Vodafoneis among the early participants of the supplier managementblockchain, along with Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev, Cisco,GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, Nokia and Schneider Electric.
TrustYour Supplier creates a digital passport of the supplier, allowingthem to share information with any buyer on the network. Withblockchain’s immutability securing the data, it reduces the timeand cost for qualifying, validating and managing new suppliers whileconnecting suppliers and buyers. Third-party validators, such as Dun& Bradstreet, Ecovadis and RapidRatings, are providingverification and audit services for the network.
Meanwhile,the platform is interoperable with other supplier procurementnetworks and connects with the cloud-based IBM Supply Chain BusinessNetwork.
Vodafonehas been actively exploring blockchain for business efficiency. Itwas part of Facebook’s Libra projectbut withdrew two months ago, saying it wanted to focus on its owninclusive payments business M-Pesa.
Previously,the UK-based telco, along with Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica,participated in several trials of ClearTechnologies’ settlementand clearing blockchain. The testsfocused on using blockchain for roaming payments and reconciliation.
Afew months ago, VodafoneUK useda blockchain augmented reality (AR) game to give away free iPhones.
Comingback to supplier management and procurement, Accenture has developedthe TrueSupplier Marketplace,which it is offering as a blockchain software-as-a-service. Accenturesaid the platform decreases supplier onboarding time to 4 days from15 days.
Meanwhile,IBM has another platform focused on contractor management, which itdeveloped with blockchain consulting firm IT People. Called IBMContingent Labour, the platform tracks timesheets, purchaseorders, and other data related to contractual work.
