These 10 clients are revolutionizing their organizations by using IBM Blockchain, and you can too.
IBM Blockchain is turning talk into tangible business outcomes
Each day, forward-thinking companies are transforming blockchain’s promise into bottom-line business results. And they’re doing it with IBM Blockchain.
But building and deploying enterprise blockchain solutions continues to be larger than any one business can tackle on its own. Discover how IBM Blockchain can help you bring together allies across departments and disciplines, industries and organizations, and countries and cultures.
Nordea enables small and midsize companies to engage in international trading when it partners with other large European banks to develop a trade financing platform, we.trade, based on the IBM Blockchain Platform running on IBM Cloud.
International trade is about buying and selling across national borders and represents new market opportunities. Although small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) as a group may stand to gain the most from international trade, they’re also least equipped to absorb these so-called counterparty risks.
we.trade members represents a cross section of big European banks and is considered a protected ecosystem for cross-border trading. The enabling technologies for the we.trade platform are IBM Blockchain and IBM Cloud.
“The partnership with IBM and the collaboration with the banks, enables us to do things we were not able to do alone. Suddenly, we can reach currently 30% of the European SME markets”
— Patrik Zekkar, Global Head Trade Finance & Working Capital Management, Nordea Bank Abp
“The partnership with IBM and the collaboration with the banks, enables us to do things we were not able to do alone. Suddenly, we can reach currently 30% of the European SME markets”
— Patrik Zekkar, Global Head Trade Finance & Working Capital Management, Nordea Bank Abp
InBlock, LLC, a fintech startup, planned to issue and manage Metacoin, a new cryptocurrency that could be used to transfer and store value within the blockchain.
INBLOCK was established to issue and efficiently operate the cryptocurrency Metacoin, which is based on Hyperledger fabric. INBLOCK's aim is to overcome cryptocurrency technical deficiencies, thereby making digital asset transaction even faster, more convenient and safer by using IBM LinuxONE.
“INBLOCK will overcome the technical deficiencies of cryptocurrency issued by existing protocol and will make the digital asset transactions even faster and safer by using IBM’s LinuxONE.”
— Jay Baek, Vice President, INBLOCK
“INBLOCK will overcome the technical deficiencies of cryptocurrency issued by existing protocol and will make the digital asset transactions even faster and safer by using IBM’s LinuxONE.”
— Jay Baek, Vice President, INBLOCK
Kroger is one of the largest grocery retailers in the US and, like any other food industry enterprise, there are many challenges that Kroger is facing and one of the biggest is traceability. Federal regulations are forcing companies to get an understanding of their entire supply chain, because ultimately they are going to need to not only know where they are getting the goods from and whether those goods are safe to eat, but they also need to know where exactly the good came from as well.
For Kroger, one of the largest grocery retailers in the US, food recalls are quite costly because it often must pull unaffected product from the shelves. By implementing a Hyperleger blockchain with industry-specific IBM modules for food traceability, the retailer can work with suppliers to trace food from the farm to its shelves, helping it identify which products to pull, and which are safe for its customers.
“Within the food industry there are a lot of challenges that we’re facing. I would say one of the biggest is traceability...and IBM has built customized modules on top of [the] Blockchain for food traceability and for certificate management.”
— Steve O’Nan, Compliance and Supplier Integrity Program Manager, Kroger
“Within the food industry there are a lot of challenges that we’re facing. I would say one of the biggest is traceability...and IBM has built customized modules on top of [the] Blockchain for food traceability and for certificate management.”
— Steve O’Nan, Compliance and Supplier Integrity Program Manager, Kroger
Proxy voting for corporate decision making has long been a costly and time-consuming process. Objecting beneficial owners (OBOs), whose defining characteristic is an unwillingness to giving up their voting anonymity, are a particularly problematic set of proxy voters.
NuArca teamed with IBM to implement a blockchain voting network solution based on the IBM Blockchain Platform that allows objecting beneficial owners and their votes to be immediately represented within the proxy voting cycle. This allows proposal supporters to make optimal decisions around whether to spend more and where to spend it to achieve their desired outcome. The blockchain solution preserves OBOs anonymity while ensuring the transparency and auditability of the voting process.
“No one denies that the … blockchain use case for proxy voting is very strong, but no one’s been able to put it together before.”
— Todd Cooper, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, NuArca
“No one denies that the … blockchain use case for proxy voting is very strong, but no one’s been able to put it together before.”
— Todd Cooper, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, NuArca
The Plastic Bank leverages Blockchain and IBM Cloud technologies to create an application that helps monetize ocean plastic.
The problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has gained increasing visibility of late. Although rising awareness is a positive, it’s done little to curb the root of the problem, the estimated eight million metric tons of plastics that go into the oceans every year. Plastic Bank has the vision to set up recycling systems in economically disadvantaged parts of the world that would enable local citizens to monetize plastic pollution.
Plastic Bank developed a security-rich, scalable reward system — a blockchain banking platform — that runs on the IBM Cloud.
“Our progression and transition into the cloud becomes even more relevant as we grow. When we continue to implement by country around the world, that’s where the IBM Cloud comes in.”
— David Katz, CEO and Founder, The Plastic Bank
“Our progression and transition into the cloud becomes even more relevant as we grow. When we continue to implement by country around the world, that’s where the IBM Cloud comes in.”
— David Katz, CEO and Founder, The Plastic Bank
The big issue for people who buy tickets to concerts and sporting events is counterfeiting. Anytime a person buys a ticket in the secondary market, the threat is always there. Blockchain technology provided an ideal tool for adding the end-to-end transparency and security that was sorely lacking in the ticketing business.
True Tickets is working with Chateaux Software Development Inc., an IBM Blockchain partner, to build a ticketing system on the IBM Blockchain Platform, powered by Hyperledger Fabric. The ticketing solution has two critical outcomes. First, it creates and preserves ticket provenance by identifying all buyers and sellers, ensuring that both the tickets and the people buying them are legitimate. Second, the ticketing platform serves as an immutable ledger, allowing artists, venues, promoters and fans to track a ticket through each stage of its lifecycle, from creation to its use at an event.
“We’re using blockchain to make ticketing smarter, and it all goes back to the fact that everything that goes into the blockchain is permanent.”
— Steven Dobesh, Co-Founder and President, True Tickets
“How we deliver actionable insights to business users was science fiction years ago—now it's fact.”
— Steven Dobesh, Co-Founder and President, True Tickets
Trading lies at the heart of a market economy, yet many banks have not developed their trade finance offering, a vital component of trade deals, for decades. we.trade, a joint venture of 12 major European banks — CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Société Générale, UBS and UniCredit — created a blockchain platform in 2017 to reduce friction and ease the trading process for participating companies.
Barriers to overcome
Global economic growth depends on trade between companies. However, challenges associated with access to capital, counterparty risk and payment speeds can often act as barriers to trading.
Trading internationally can open up new revenue streams and increase profits, enabling a company to increase internal investment and accelerate its development. However, trading with customers in other countries can also involve long, difficult and costly negotiations, and carry risks – for instance, what if your buyer doesn’t pay?
Banks have traditionally been the facilitators of trade deals, by serving as intermediaries and providing financing for transactions. However, banks have not digitally transformed trade finance for decades, and trade finance is either not scalable for banks, or too complicated and costly for the majority of the companies, therefore leaving almost 70 percent of companies without access to trade finance services. Additionally, the legal processes involved in international trade deals are often lengthy and cumbersome, preventing companies from doing business in an agile way.
Roberto Mancone, who was a co-founder of we.trade, commented: “The traditional trade finance model run by banks had not evolved for decades. Both banks and companies were constrained. Banks were not able to scale their platform to make it available to all clients; while companies did not want to be exposed to counterparty risk.
“we.trade believed that the industry could be made much simpler and more efficient, which would enable companies of all sizes to trade more easily and securely across borders, helping to drive global economic growth. We aimed to develop a platform that could achieve this.”
Automating on blockchain
we.trade worked with IBM to develop a blockchain trading platform on the IBM® Cloud™ that uses smart contracts and distributed ledger technology to enable companies to trade seamlessly, simply and trustfully. The IBM Cloud uses the Hyperledger Fabric framework from the Linux Foundation, to reduce the friction involved in cross-border trade and provide businesses with a simple way of conducting international transactions.
Companies are brought onto the blockchain platform by their bank, which eliminates potential concerns about the ability to trust counterparties. Previously, the numerous legal, financial and cultural risks associated with trading with a foreign partner may have discouraged companies from trading internationally. However, all users of the we.trade platform have already gone through international Know Your Customer processes to ensure they comply with applicable anti-money laundering regulations, mitigating these risks considerably.
Blockchain serves as a secure, shared database that cannot be controlled by any single entity and has no single point of failure. Every entry on a blockchain is given a timestamp and a unique cryptographic signature. The blockchain platform developed by we.trade and IBM has two main features that help empower enterprises of all sizes to take part in international trade: distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts.
The DLT ensures that all relevant parties have access to the same information regarding trade deals at the same time, and that no single party has control over this data. If Company A makes a change to the terms of its trading agreement with Company B, then this will alter the cryptographic hash in the blockchain, and all other parties, including Company B, banks and any other intermediaries, will be alerted to the change immediately.
Often, companies have found that a barrier to trading with businesses in other countries is the difficulty of guaranteeing that a contract will be enforced. Any delay to a payment or a delivery can be very damaging, as cashflow may rely on the timely fulfillment of the trade contract.
we.trade’s built-in smart contracts eliminate this form of counterparty risk. The smart contracts guarantee that if one party in a transaction fulfills the necessary requirements, as previously agreed and recorded in the blockchain, the payment process is executed automatically. The smart contracts ensure that all parties receive instant triggers demonstrating how one side is following the agreement and notifying the other when it is time to implement their side of the deal – such as by sending payment. The fact that the contracts are written into the platform’s code removes the need for any underpinning legal system or enforcement mechanism.
we.trade selected IBM as its technology partner in part due to the company’s deep expertise and long experience of working with the financial services sector. The company was also impressed by IBM’s global reach, which enables it to implement complex projects all over the world – this is vital to accommodate we.trade’s global ambitions. IBM’s ability to develop and support all aspects of the platform, unlike competitors, was another key differentiating factor.
we.trade worked closely with IBM Blockchain Services to implement the platform. The IBM team carried out a functional analysis of the company’s requirements and held a series of discussions at the start of the project in order to gain a clear picture of we.trade’s aims for the platform. The team established a minimum viable network, before progressing to a commercial platform with a defined operating model tailored to we.trade’s needs in only a few months.
Simplifying international trade
The we.trade platform began full operations with real transactions in July 2018. The company is now working with IBM on the launch of an updated version and in October 2018 announced the addition of three new banks to the we.trade platform extending the geographical reach across 13 countries.
In addition to removing the risk associated with trading with unknown partners; creating a ‘one-stop-shop’ of real-time information on any trade visible to all parties; and triggering automatic payments through smart contracts, the platform brings a range of further benefits to encourage companies to begin trading internationally.
Key among these is Bank Payment Undertaking (BPU). For selling parties, BPU transfers counterparty risk, already minimized by the nature of the platform, to the banks. This means that if a company fails to pay the money it owes to its trading partner, the banks facilitating the deal will provide interim payment. For buyers, BPU represents an undertaking to provide trade finance, making transactions significantly easier to complete.
we.trade is looking ahead to further development and gaining a broader client base. Currently, most of the users of the platform are financial services companies, the sector that has traditionally shown the most interest in blockchain technology. However, we.trade is also gaining significant interest from logistics and insurance businesses, and will soon seek to onboard companies in these industries. As the platform grows, IBM Blockchain Services will help with the onboarding of new members.
Gaining more participants will grow and diversify we.trade’s revenue streams. An increase in the number and type of businesses using the platform will also create a virtuous circle for the trading companies themselves: the larger the pool of potential partners, the more users can achieve on the same platform. we.trade is effectively building a convenient directory service for trade, where companies can simply search on the platform for an appropriate trading partner, enter discussions and decide to do business.
we.trade could be set to transform the entire trade finance industry. By eliminating or streamlining steps in the trading process – including identifying a reputable partner, sourcing trade finance, ensuring regulatory compliance and chasing up receivables – the company is making cross-border transactions faster, simpler and more transparent. As the platform grows and attracts more banks and corporates to carry out cross-border transactions, more companies, including SMEs, will be empowered to grow their business and diversify their revenue by trading internationally with we.trade.
About we.trade: we.trade is an innovative blockchain platform developed by twelve major European banks that aims to create a transparent, secure and simplified trading environment for businesses and banks.
“At we.trade, we believed that the industry could be made much simpler and more efficient, which would enable companies of all sizes to trade across borders, helping to drive global economic growth.”
— Roberto Mancone was a co-founder of we.trade
“At we.trade, we believed that the industry could be made much simpler and more efficient, which would enable companies of all sizes to trade across borders, helping to drive global economic growth.”
— Roberto Mancone was a co-founder of we.trade
Construction companies hiring contractors and gig workers require them to submit proof of insurance before beginning work. However, obtaining and submitting this proof can take days and even weeks due to complicated and manual processes. Executives at Marsh LLC were intimately familiar with this because each year, Marsh helps create millions of proof-of-insurance documents for its customers.
As the insurer that helps create millions of these insurance guarantees each year, Marsh saw an opportunity to streamline and improve the process using IBM Blockchain technology. The IBM Services team helped Marsh integrate Salesforce.com with the IBM Blockchain Platform as the starting point in the certificate process to create an immutable proof-of-insurance record accessible by all permissioned network members to increase efficiency and boost trust among all parties to the transactions.
“I’ve seen the investment and the commitment from IBM to the open source community, especially the Hyperledger Project. I do think that the effort that IBM is putting in makes a lot of sense for us to partner with.”
— Sastry Durvasula, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Marsh LLC
“I’ve seen the investment and the commitment from IBM to the open source community, especially the Hyperledger Project. I do think that the effort that IBM is putting in makes a lot of sense for us to partner with.”
— Sastry Durvasula, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Marsh LLC
RCS global is a leading company in data-driven responsible sourcing. The company uses data to validate responsible natural resource extraction practices in supply chains. RCS Global works with companies at every stage of the supply chain to meet market and stakeholder expectations for responsible sourcing through auditing and monitoring responsible human rights practices and environmental regulatory compliance. The company has risen to the challenge of getting access to data, visibility and transparency at every level of supply chain, particularly related to working conditions and the associated risk that come with the conditions for the companies that are further downstream from where the risk emerges.
RCS Global, a leader in data-driven responsible sourcing, teamed up with IBM to create the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network. The IBM Blockchain platform provides the foundation for a network of validated companies that can trade and exchange information directly with each other on the blockchain, building trust among companies as they trace minerals through the supply chain. The blockchain provides a trusted and secure environment that leads to greater efficiency and reduces audit costs that companies would otherwise have to carry themselves.
“The implementation of blockchain in responsible sourcing is a game-changer … it builds trust in amongst companies where previous there was not.”
— Dr. Nicholas Garrett, Group Chief Executive Officer, RCS Global Group
“The implementation of blockchain in responsible sourcing is a game-changer … it builds trust in amongst companies where previous there was not.”
— Dr. Nicholas Garrett, Group Chief Executive Officer, RCS Global Group
iPoint-systems GmbH needed technical expertise to help it quickly launch a blockchain network to validate the provenance of minerals used in manufacturing.
iPoint tapped the IBM® Garage™ to help it quickly develop and launch a blockchain pilot on IBM Cloud™ to trace minerals from mines in conflict-affected and high-risk areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Rwanda. Blockchain technology can help keep “conflict minerals” from critical products by providing an immutable record and a digital twin of the resources as they move through the supply chain.
Tracing conflict minerals in the supply chain
Almost everyone is familiar with the terms “blood diamonds” and “conflict minerals.” They connote natural resources that can help finance various wars and conflicts in the regions where they are mined. Conflict resources go well beyond diamonds, increasingly including minerals used in mobile phones, electric car batteries and other high-tech items. And the “conflict” today includes not just war financing, but also child labor, forced labor, modern slavery and poor environmental practices.
The EU and the US have both expanded regulations that require companies purchasing minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas to ensure the sustainable, conflict-free sourcing of these resources. These include the US Dodd-Frank Act, which requires publicly-listed companies to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission whether minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product they manufacture originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A similar EU regulation (2017/821) that governs importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold — also known as 3TG — will take effect in 2021.
In addition to government oversight, increased public awareness means that consumers want to know that the products they use, and the companies they buy from, don’t contribute to conflict and human rights abuses.
“There are many technology and automotive brands that are very interested in ensuring that their products are free of child labor, slavery and do not contribute to conflicts,” says Sebastian Galindo Schaly, Project Lead of the iPoint SustainBlock project. “We want to support these companies with our solutions.” iPoint, which already offers its SustainHub solution to help clients manage other compliance and sustainability challenges, decided to create a solution that could trace 3TG resources from mine to store.
iPoint set out to design a blockchain-based solution to verify whether mines and mineral sources operate sustainably and responsibly, allowing upstream purchasers to confirm compliance with US and EU regulations. Even small to medium-sized mines in countries such as Rwanda and Congo must prove that they are conducting business responsibly. This platform would give the mines an incentive to comply with the sustainability and conflict-free mining requirements, which will ultimately improve mining conditions.
When setting out to develop this traceability platform, iPoint realized that it needed greater expertise in blockchain technology than it currently possessed to ensure that the solution was operational in time to meet the commencement of the EU 3TG regulation. Rather than continue to struggle to create a solution from scratch, iPoint turned to the blockchain experts at IBM Blockchain Services, who introduced iPoint to the Garage methodology and worked closely with the IBM Garage team.
An ideal blockchain scenario
iPoint worked with the IBM Garage and used IBM Enterprise Design Thinking™ methodology to quickly develop and launch a pilot of its SustainBlock blockchain network on IBM Cloud to trace minerals from mines in conflict-affected and high-risk areas such as the African Great Lakes Region.
Aware of IBM leadership in blockchain technology, iPoint decided to meet with consultants from IBM Garage. According to Marjan Stanković, Software Architect and Lead Developer for SustainBlock at iPoint, “The first thing we noticed was that the business people from IBM were very capable of talking about Hyperledger and blockchain technology.”
The IBM Garage consultants quickly let iPoint know that it had an excellent blockchain use case. They offered an Enterprise Design Thinking approach leading to an MVP as the fastest way for iPoint to launch an actual blockchain pilot. “We didn’t want to waste our time working with different providers,” says Stanković. “With IBM, we were able to talk about our real issues. In short, we were very happy, even impressed, with IBM Garage.”
The iPoint and IBM teams each brought expertise to the table: IBM with a deep knowledge of blockchain for supply chain and Hyperledger Fabric, and iPoint with its experience in data collection processes, sustainability and accountability in the responsible minerals supply chain. It was an unusual scenario for the Garage team because iPoint came with specific requirements for a well-developed and suitable blockchain project rather than starting out with a blank whiteboard.
SustainBlock: The blockchain for the future
Within four weeks of engaging with the IBM Garage team, iPoint had its minimum viable product (MVP), built on IBM Cloud. It was time to test the blockchain.
With support from the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) and BetterChain, iPoint launched a pilot of SustainBlock. The blockchain technology allows iPoint to create a “digital twin” of the resources that can be followed from mine to smelter to manufacturer as the actual minerals make their way through the supply chain.
The speed at which iPoint was able to launch its pilot played a critical role in the success of the project. When it first came to the IBM Garage, iPoint had already developed its software requirements and wanted to get to an MVP quickly, but was a bit skeptical about the design thinking approach. “Initially we had some doubt and thought that the design thinking phase would take too much time,” says Galindo. “In the end, it was just the right amount of time.”
Stanković concurs: “For me, as a technical person, it was definitely a benefit that we didn't waste time struggling with trial-and-error approaches that would have been likely without the expertise from the IBM team.” After his first time using a design thinking approach with the IBM Garage, Stanković was sold. “The Garage approach is something that we can reuse internally at iPoint,” he says. “It saves time and resources. And, eventually, these savings will be projected as cost savings.”
The pilot focused on two tungsten mining sites in the African Great Lakes Region, where mining and working conditions can be harsh. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) not only gain insight into their supply chains to responsibly source minerals, but are also poised to better manage compliance with existing and future regulations.
Galindo notes that, in addition to providing manufacturers with traceability for the minerals they source from small to medium-sized mining operations, “We really try to improve the working conditions of small and medium-sized mining operations in these conflict-affected and high-risk areas.” To participate in the network, companies need to prove that they are following responsible business practices. Then, once a mining company becomes part of a blockchain-based consortium and establishes an ongoing customer stream, it can continuously improve its mining techniques and conditions.
In April 2019, iPoint Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joerg Walden was elected co-chair of the Social Impact working group of the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA). The group believes that blockchain offers a unique set of tools to tackle some of the most pressing issues humanity is facing today and aims to use the technology to help resolve issues of modern slavery, poverty and corruption, among others.
iPoint sees great possibilities for using blockchain technology now and in the future. It intends to incorporate the technology into upcoming endeavors to help companies participate in the emerging Circular Economy. The EU has established a Circular Economy Framework that aims to significantly reduce waste by continuously recycling and reusing the raw materials from products. “We want to develop a digital twin which carries information through the design, manufacturing, use and recycle phases, and then we want to get these materials and reintroduce them into a new cycle,” says Gunther Walden, Founder of CircularTree, an innovation hub for iPoint.
About iPoint: Founded in 2001, iPoint is a software and services provider focused on product and process compliance and sustainability. The company offers specialized software for managing, tracking and reporting data across the supply chain, from product concept, to use, to recycling and reuse. From its headquarters in Reutlingen, Germany, iPoint oversees 170 employees in 14 locations across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company’s more than 50,000 customers from 100 countries include 250 of the world’s top manufacturers.
“We try to improve the working conditions of small and medium-sized mining operations in these conflict-affected and high-risk areas.”
— Sebastian Galindo Schaly, Project Lead, SustainBlock project, iPoint-systems GmbH
“We try to improve the working conditions of small and medium-sized mining operations in these conflict-affected and high-risk areas.”
— Sebastian Galindo Schaly, Project Lead, SustainBlock project, iPoint-systems GmbH
“The Garage approach is something that we can reuse. It saves time and resources. And, eventually, these savings will be projected as cost savings.”
— Marjan Stanković, Software Architect and Lead Developer for SustainBlock, iPoint-systems GmbH
“The Garage approach is something that we can reuse. It saves time and resources. And, eventually, these savings will be projected as cost savings.”
— Marjan Stanković, Software Architect and Lead Developer for SustainBlock, iPoint-systems GmbH
IBM Blockchain Services is a top-ranked services provider featuring industry and technical experts who use IBM Garage methods to guide you through every stage of your blockchain journey.