We are delighted to introduce our first structured educational content that will help businesses develop their traceability strategies and become an interesting learning resource for our community. We recorded three highly relevant presentations for business professionals who are developing blockchain use cases.

Before we dive into the content, we would like to highlight that Trace Alliance Chairman, John G. Keogh, is a distinguished lecturer on food safety and standards topics. He used to be a Senior Vice President at GS1 Canada and Director of Product Safety and Anti-Counterfeiting at GS1’s Global Office, which supports local offices in 112 countries. John is now an advisor to the OriginTrail team on supply chain integrity and standards.

John is also one of the key influencers on LinkedIn on the practical application of technology and standards to enhance traceability, transparency, and trust in modern supply chains. He is frequently both encouraging and engaging in discussions on these topics.

Recently, John started an Expert View series for the OriginTrail YouTube channel. You can watch the whole series at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbpq0wLI-bB0ZmQoDlR8eaUQz1zlbE1Y8.

We initially shared these videos with Trace Alliance members only, but, since this is valuable content for any business exploring the benefits of the distributed ledger, we decided to open them to the public.

Here are the three videos, along with key outtakes from each one:

Blockchain-driven Value Chain Transparency & Trust

The first video explores the notion of transparency and trust in the value chain and the role the blockchain and new technologies play in disrupting these concepts. Companies can also be transparent with incorrect or misleading information. Information needs to be believable, truthful, and timely — not out of date or irrelevant. Regulation is usually based on mistrust.

Standards and the OriginTrail protocol reduce the loss of information and prevent delays in communication. Utilizing industry standards and integrated technology platforms can enhance transparency and increase consumer trust — and, this also creates more value for consumers.

A Brief Overview of the GS1 System

John gives a brief overview of the GS1 system and its mission. GS1’s management board includes executives from Amazon, Walmart International, Google, Procter & Gamble, Mondelez International, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, and more.

GS1 standards help the industry to standardize, automate, and optimize the supply chain. They foster trust, interoperability, transparency, and visibility. All of the companies have different technologies and maturity, but the GS1 system is a language of business.

Regulation defines which data has to be carried, but the industry decides on a data carrier. Accurate information helps with recall readiness as well as with anti-counterfeiting. The OriginTrail protocol helps to streamline the data in the inter-organizational environment of global supply chains, utilizing the blockchain as an additional layer of trust.

Implementing the Blockchain — How to Get Started

In the third video, we touch on the basics of implementing blockchain technology to support a business process. John shared insights and prepared tools and models to help with conceptualizing the implementation.

There are different use cases of blockchain technology in the supply chain industry. For example, “track & trace” (data collection, based on the GS1 standard), or “sense & respond” (event management, trend detection, predictive analytics).

Vital tools for implementation are also business process mapping and supply chain process mapping. A proof of concept is a valid starting point to help fine-tune a vision and strategy. Iteration between models with new findings is vital.

For further information about how to implement the blockchain to your business, join the Trace Alliance.

We are preparing more educational content.

Trace on!

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