“You will either introduce the blockchain or disappear”, said FedEx Corporation CEO Fred Smith at the blockchain conference “Consensus 2018”. And it's not just empty statements: almost all large companies are either considering this possibility, or have already implemented blockchain in their business. Today we will look at 10 examples of blockchain use by large companies that have proven the use of this technology.
#1 JPMorgan: bank transfers
In 2017, JPMorgan Chase, with the participation of Royal Bank of Canada and ANZ, announced the launch of an interbank payment platform called the Interbank Information Network (IIN). This is one of the first projects of the working group of the Advanced Blockchain Technology Center. IIN was developed on the Quorum blockchain base, which was created in collaboration with Ethhereum EthLab.
IIN tasks include:
- interbank cash transactions;
- cross-border cash transactions;
- transaction support in the account (document flow);
- collection and storage of transaction data.
Practice has shown that,
thanks to the blockchain and smart contracts, bank transfers have become faster - 1 hour instead of 3 days, cheaper - 2-3% of fees instead of 5-30%, more reliable - less errors and inaccuracies in document flow. The
blockchain is especially good at cross-border transfers.
Similar cases:
- The Federal Reserve System uses the IBM blockchain to upgrade the data processing platform of the automated clearing center.
- Visa launched B2B Connect to facilitate cross-border payments by simplifying direct payments between institutions.
- American Express and Santander use Ripple blockchain network for making payments.
- Royal Bank of Canada uses blockchain for cross-border payments between Canada and the United States.
#2 Volkswagen Financial Services: digital vehicle logbook
The financial services provider Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS), which provides financial, service and insurance products to the customers of the Volkswagen Group, has started developing a
digital logbook for
blockchain-based vehicles. In fact, the auto giant is
developing a mobile application that
will allow to:
- track and verify the origin of the car, as well as auto parts used in the manufacture or repair of the car;
- accelerate the development of an autonomous vehicle by collecting large data on car traffic and driver behavior;
- optimize supply chain and business processes.
Vehicle information is collected by process participants and RIFT tags, sent to the IoT Azure Center (Microsoft Azure cloud platform), and then recorded in BigchainDB.
Access to the data is at the owner of the vehicle and at all interested parties: insurers, the state, potential buyers and others.
Other large cases in the automotive industry:
- Toyota Research Institute launched a project to collect data on autonomous driving. Information will be stored on the blockchain in the public domain.
- Share & Charge are creating a mobile platform to serve the electric vehicle charging market.
- Renault uses a digital logbook that tracks the vehicle’s technical and operational data. It was jointly developed by VeChain and Microsoft.
#3 British Airways: aviatransportation
In 2017, British Airways, along with SITA (IT company) and three airports (Miami, Geneva and London),
launched the FlightChain project, which was to find out whether the
blockchain is able to create a unified “source of truth” for data used by stakeholders in the aviation industry.
As part of the project, event participants recorded flight data on the blockchain. For example, data on the arrival and departure of aircraft, the number of passengers and the like. In total, more than 2 million changes were recorded. All of them were recorded and used by event participants to optimize workflows.
For example, airport services, knowing about delays, could change the service schedule, and passengers could adjust their plans: arrive later at the airport or rebook tickets for later flights in case of flights with transfers.
The test results are published in the SITA report, where the importance of choosing the right management architecture (was used private blockchain) and the high availability of smart contracts are noted.
Similar projects:
#4 Maersk: cargo shipping
The world's largest shipping company, Maersk (16% of the global shipping fleet), together with the customs service of the Netherlands and IBM Hyperledger Fabric, launched a project that automates some processes in cargo shipping,
synchronizes data and serves as a single "source of truth" for all participants.
Thanks to this you can:
- speed up interaction processes (smart contracts fill out documents, check them and put stamps);
- reduce the amount of empty space in containers;
- exclude up to 5 intermediaries in transactions;
- optimize supply chain.
The initiative was named
TradeLens. This is an open
platform based on IBM-Maersk blockchain. It has already optimized over 360 million shipping events and attracted over 90 participants to its ranks, 20 of which are customs services and ports.
Similar projects:
- UPS develop a system that autonomously makes up the supply chain through various logistics service providers and instantly performs settlements between the parties.
- FedEx tests Hyper Ledger to track important shipments.
#5 Carrier Blockchain Study Group: mobile connection
In 2017, Far EasTone (Taiwan), SoftBank (Japan), Sprint (America), together with the developer TBCASoft, created the Carrier Blockchain Study Group consortium to create a mobile communication platform for secure clearing and settlement, IoT-based application service, identity verification and other services.
Testing has shown that blockchain:
- makes transactions cheaper and safer for all participants;
- protects the personal data of participants (operators and customers);
- accelerates data exchange and financial settlements between operators;
- eliminates transaction failures between line operators;
- eliminates late transactions.
After the concept was confirmed, Etisalat Telecommunication (UAE), LG Uplus and KT (South Korea), Telin (Indonesia), PLDT (Philippines), Turkcell (Turkey), Zain Group (Kuwait), Viettel Telecom (Vietnam) and Axiata Group Berhad (Malaysia) joined the
consortium.
#6 Walmart: foodstuffs
The network retailer Walmart was one of the first to use the blockchain to control the quality and trace the origin of food. First, the company tested the concept of delivering mango from Latin America and pork from China. hen this experience was transferred to tracing the origin of greenery, and in an orderly manner: the the retailer demanded that all suppliers of greenery switch to the blockchain after another epidemic of E. coli poisoning in the USA.
Walmart used technology from the IT giant IBM, which, based on this case, launched the IBM Food Trust initiative. Participation in it provides the following benefits:
- Ensuring food safety through traceability of the supply chain and transparency of data on shelf life, manufacturer, method and conditions of transportation.
- Improving the efficiency of the supply chain by automating processes and collecting big data that help in finding the best logistic paths.
- Increasing consumer confidence and loyalty through open access to most of the data in the blockchain, which help assess the quality and authenticity of products.
- Reducing the amount of food waste and spoilage during transportation through the identification of problem points that give the most damage to the goods.
- Protection against food fraud by using a single “source of truth” that cannot be hacked or bribed.
In addition to Walmart, the French retail chain Carrefour (12,000 stores in 33 countries), Topco Associates cooperative (49 member companies, 15,000 stores and 65 million customers per week), Wakefern cooperative (50 member companies, 350 stores), suppliers of Smithfield, Dennick FruitSource, BeefChain, Scoular, as well as Nestlé, McCormick and Co, The Kroger Co., McLane Co., Unilever, Dole, Driscoll's and many other
companies.
Similar projects:
- Provenance developed a solution for tracking the origin of goods and supply chain management. Their software is used by the British Co-op cooperative, the Asian supplier of fish Pole and Line, the Association of Organic, the manufacturer of fashionable clothes Martine Jarlgaard and others.
- Alibaba and JD launched a project to track the authenticity of food, children's products, alcoholic beverages and luxury goods.
- Bright Food uses VeChainThor technology for supply chain management and optimization.
#7 MediLedger: medicine
The MediLedger project was launched in 2017 to test in practice whether it is possible to create a database based on the blockchain, which will accompany the supply of pharmaceutical products according to the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and other industry standards. The software product was developed by the REshape center in collaboration with SNS Bank NV and Deloitte and tested in 2018.
Tests have shown that MediLedger:
- Improves the speed and reliability of drug testing. Manufacturers, suppliers and transport companies are now checked automatically, rather than through personal presence, telephones and emails.
- Simplifies business and financial contacts between counterparties in the industry by automating processes and reducing the number of intermediaries, which also increases the profitability of companies and reduces the price of medicines.
- Protects sensitive data according to all DSCSA regulations, which will take effect in 2023.
Now MediLedger is used by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, McKesson distributors (serves more than 50% of US hospitals and 20% of doctors), AmerisourceBergen (income is $ 150 billion), Genentech (40 years on the
market, income is $ 17 billion), the manufacturer of medicines Gilead Sciences (revenue - $ 20 billion).
Similar projects:
- MedRec created by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab to track medicines and maintain the integrity of electronic medical records.
- The Estonian e-Health Foundation and Guardtime have created a single database for storing all medical records in the country. The project was named eHealth Estonia.
- The SimplyVitalHealth and Patientory platforms are used to store and provide physicians with patient data.
#8 BP, Statoil and Shell: oil industry
Three industry giants, along with several other oil companies,
trading platforms and banks, are developing the
VAKT trading platform, which will enable the switch from traditional paper contracts to
automated smart contracts. This will reduce the risk of errors, reduce costs and make backend operations more efficient and reliable.
The platform was developed in collaboration with Deloitte, ThoughtWorks and Komgo. The launch took place in November 2018, but in test mode: only project participants have access. Wide access will be open in 2019.
Similar projects:
- Petroteq Energy has developed a blockchain to track the supply chain in the oil industry. Deloitte analysts believe their solutions will become the industry standard.
- GuildOne together with a consortium of R3 presented a solution for data processing, business intelligence and secure transactions.
- Accenture created a network to track the movement of trucks involved in the transportation of oil and gas over long distances.
#9 Travelport: tourist platform
One of the largest providers of electronic distribution services in the travel industry, Travelport, in partnership with IBM,
created a distribution system for managing tours and events, checking distribution and calculation, synchronizing booking
data.
Travelport is a platform where market participants offer and buy services, exchange data, make calculations and characterize counterparties. In fact, this is the same site for searching tours, booking hotels, flights and excursions, but the platform was created on the basis of the blockchain and uses applied artificial intelligence.
The feature of platform is approval system and honest reviews. Thus, a tour operator can develop a tour and get confirmation of its authenticity and quality with the help of approval (confirmation of participation) of all parties involved (airline, hotel, transport companies, guides and others).
For their part, users can leave feedback on all members of the network with whom they directly interacted: the airline whose tickets they bought, the hotel where they spent the night, and so on. Together, this provides reliable information on the quality of services and provides good protection against fraud.
Similar projects:
- Winding Tree and TravelCoin create analogs of travelport blockchain solutions.
- Travel Chain creates a database of participants in the tourist market with reliable and confirmed reviews.
- TUI Group introduces Bed Swap blockchain into its business to control the loading of numbers and optimize financial transactions.
#10 Save the Children
The
blockchain technology is used not only by commercial companies that want to streamline business processes, reduce costs and make even more money. Non-profit organizations are also increasingly turning to distribution registers.
For example, Save the Children, an international charity that protects children around the world, is testing a database based on a distribution registry. The idea is that people and organizations who want to become volunteers, pass the test in advance and receive after this a digital identifier - “humanitarian passport”.
Thus, Save the Children creates a list of people and organizations whose skills, capabilities, and location are known and tested. This list is used in case of disasters, accidents and epidemics, when there is no time for long checks and interviews.
Save the Children is also exploring the potential of blockchain technologies in the field of fully transparent crowdfunding and the use of smart contracts for settlements with partners. In the future, it is planned to test the possibilities of smart contracts in the distribution of charitable money and resources among direct recipients of humanitarian aid.
Similar projects:
- BitGive Foundation uses bitcoins to collect donations and show how they were spent. For example, in the framework of BitGive, the Medic Mobile initiative is launched - coordinating efforts to raise funds for the treatment of children suffering from malnutrition. And the Water Project initiative is a fundraiser for building a toilet and a rainwater basin in Chandolo Elementary School, Kenya.
- Code to Inspire (CTI) raises money to educate Afghan women interested in getting an education in programming and online business.
- The Last Door collects cryptocurrency to support and treat drug addicts. The organization pays for treatment and helps to join the community after rehabilitation.
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