Blockchain to Establish a New Level of Trust in F&B
Order reconciliation time can make or break businesses. But for corporate gods like Coca-Cola, reducing order reconciliation time is about tidying their business constantly and providing that premium experience to their B2B partners. Until a few years ago, Coke One North America), the IT Platform that manages the bottling business for North American Coca-Cola, had an order reconciliation time of 50 days. But now, thanks to blockchain technology, they have reduced it to just under a few days.
The SAP-powered blockchain solution transformed their 160,000 orders per day supply chain. It helped the company real-time track their bottles back to the raw materials suppliers, food factories, cold rooms, refrigerated trucks, and retail stores. In the event of batch contamination, the company can trace contaminated food within seconds versus the weeks-long manual process. This is invaluable during times of product recall.
Coca-Cola is not alone. Walmart has been using blockchain technology to not only digitally transform its supply chain and reduce the time it takes to track the source of food contamination. Nestlé uses a blockchain to trace the growing origins of its Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee brand. This helps the brand guarantee the sustainability practices of the coffee growing. On the other hand, the consumer can simply scan a QR code on the packaging to view real-time information on farmers, the time of harvest, the roasting period, and even the transaction certificate for their coffee’s specific shipment. Bumble Bee Foods records its yellowfin tuna operations on a blockchain—from when it’s caught to when it’s sold in the shops.
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