German chemical company BASF pilots supply chain blockchain

[sheld0n]

German chemical giant BASF has revealed it is investigating blockchain's potential in tracking supply chains.

The company quietly announced this week that it has been working with blockchain startup Quantoz and IoT startup Ahrma to trial a platform that uses blockchain technology to track the shipment of goods. The project is part of the Startup Autobahn initiative, an automotive industry-focused accelerator that includes support from automaker Daimler, which is itself experimenting with blockchain.

Presented during the accelerator's exposition day on July 25, the project is aimed to provide information about the position and movement of goods within the supply chain. The idea is that the system could be used to track, say, car parts that go missing, with information about those shipments shared between all points along the manufacturing pipeline.