Why and how Wholechain uses blockchain for traceability

The complexity of the journeys products embark on before arriving in the hands of consumers cannot be understated. With robust data collection and storytelling tools, Wholechain is designed to address the growing movement to demystify these journeys, known as supply chain traceability. Only when companies and consumers are fully informed can they make better decisions about where they spend their money. 

By design, Wholechain is exceptionally simple on the surface for each user along the supply chain, while operating robust systems under the surface to securely and accurately connect every product journey from end to end. 

Blockchain is one of the technologies that Wholechain has chosen specifically to address some core questions that underpin traceability: 

• How can we be sure of the authenticity of supply chain data? 
• What if data gets lost or tampered with through the complex chain of custody?
• Who is going to manage and store supply chain data, and are they trustworthy? 

Here is some background on blockchain and why it's been selected as a fundamental component of Wholechain's technology.

• What is blockchain?
• Why does blockchain work well for traceability?
• Which blockchains does Wholechain use?
• What information does Wholechain record on a blockchain?

What is blockchain?

A blockchain is a distributed ledger of transactions' that has transformational potential for global industry that reaches far beyond cryptocurrency. Each transaction in the ledger, or “block,” contains key data elements (KDE’s) that are added onto the cryptographic “chain” upon real-time validation by a peer-to-peer network of connected computers. The process is designed in such a way that the information is nearly impossible to tamper with, and does not require management by a centralized data system (the way most of the other data we interact with does). 

Here’s a list of resources if you’re interested in learning more about blockchain technology and its uses. 

Why does blockchain work well for supply chain traceability?

Here are three simple reasons blockchain technology is uniquely suited for supply chain traceability, and why Wholechain has decided to utilize it:

• By design, blockchain is resistant to tampering or modification. This means records are immutable and their validity and authenticity can be trusted. At the end of the day, customers need to be able to trust that the story of the product journey is reliable. 

• At its core, every product’s supply chain consists of a chain of custody from origin to consumer. Blockchain’s “chain” format mimics that journey as a ledger of supply chain details and events. 

• The decentralized nature of blockchain technology means no biased third party can impact the integrity of supply chain data. Whereas centralized data systems can enable obscurity and data modifications, blockchain enables objectivity and security. 

Now, there’s a lot of hype around blockchain, and at Wholechain, we aren’t making claims that this technology will eliminate human trafficking, save the planet or cure cancer. It is simply one of the tools we’ve selected to incorporate in our multifaceted solution, bringing the exact benefits described above: immutable and authentic data capture that is not managed by any one party, thus increasing trust across supply chain stakeholders. 

Which blockchains does Wholechain use?

At Wholechain we’ve carefully selected reputable blockchain partners to entrust with our customers’ supply chain data. At the moment we offer two options to our customers based on their unique context and requirements: Mastercard Provenance Solution and Stellar. 

What information does Wholechain record on the blockchain?

All the products and events that comprise the movements through your supply chain can be viewed in Wholechain’s web and mobile apps, and all events are written to the blockchain that each company using Wholechain has selected to use.

Wholechain records data from the following event types onto the blockchain: 

• Commission / Decommission - When a product comes into existence in or exits a supply chain. Examples of Commission would be harvest or first transaction, and Decommission would be either final consumption, or destruction / removal from a supply chain due to a quality or logistical issue. 
• Aggregate / Disaggregate - When products are grouped together for shipping or storage (i.e. on a pallet or in a container), as well as when they're broken back up again into their individual units. 
• Ship / Receive - When a product changes locations, moving from one company to another, or from one internal location to another. 
• Transform - When a product is changed from one traceable item to another, whether due to processing, packaging, comingling, etc. These events are written to the blockchain including the product data pertaining to the inputs and the outputs. 

The data Wholechain writes to the blockchain that is referred to by each Event Record's hash includes: 

• Event Date
• Date and time event was logged
• The company and user that logged the event
• Location of the event
• Product type of items in the event
• Primary Identifier of items included in the event (i.e. batch / lot code, serial number)
• Secondary identifiers associated with the products - whether Purchase Orders, Work Orders, or other
• Quantity and Unit of Measure of items in the event
• Custom Data - users have the option of using custom data templates to capture specific information upon logging each event.

You can view each of the above transactions on the respective blockchain your company has chosen through a link displayed in the event record details in Wholechain.