Consumers increasingly demand to know where their products come from and how they're made. This demand coincides with a growing number of regulations mandating clear traceability through supply chains. Ensuring transparency and responsible practices within these intricate networks presents a significant challenge. Recognizing this, Jayson Berryhill and Mark Kaplan founded Wholechain, with a vision to bring much-needed visibility to fragmented supply chains across commodities. Wholechain's end-to-end traceability technology enables companies to collect verifiable data at every step of the supply chain, and ensures that data is immutable through the use of Algorand blockchain technology.
Highlights
- Leading sustainability-focused companies leverage Wholechain traceability to collect verifiable data and support their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) claims.
- Wholechain has partnered with the Yucatan government to enable routes to the U.S. and domestic markets for Yucatecan fishers, leveraging Wholechain traceability and certifications.
Challenge
Modern supply chains are complex networks with numerous participants, from raw material producers to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. This presents significant challenges for businesses. Traditional methods like pencil and paper or static spreadsheets that can be modified often have limited visibility, which hinders the real-time tracking of product movement and location. Furthermore, information about products often gets fragmented across disparate systems and data formats used by various partners. This makes it difficult to manage inventory levels effectively, anticipate potential delays, or respond swiftly to disruptions within the complex network. In turn, this can lead to operational inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and missed revenue opportunities.
Verifying the origin of products and the validity of associated claims poses another challenge. Without a secure and transparent way to track product provenance, concerns regarding fraud, counterfeiting, and misleading environmental claims ("greenwashing") can arise. This can result in a decline in consumer and investor trust, inflated operational costs, and difficulties in ensuring responsible sourcing practices throughout the supply chain.
Another challenge driving traceability is the evolving regulatory landscape that requires traceability. In the United States, Rule 204 of the FDA Food Modernization Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are examples of regulations challenging businesses to take a critical look at their supply chains, and begin to collect verifiable data to corroborate their claims of food safety, worker welfare and more. In the EU, the Deforestation Regulation and Anti-Greenwashing Rule are other examples of sustainability-driven policy that is driving adoption of traceability.
Solution
In response to these challenges, Wholechain developed a blockchain-based solution that provides item and lot-level traceability from source to processor/manufacturer and distribution, allowing companies to connect previously disconnected suppliers by mapping entire networks. Each step in the journey is immutably recorded on the blockchain, providing a secure and transparent ledger of a product's movement. This provides companies with verifiable insights into their supply chains, allowing them to identify bottlenecks, ensure alignment with sustainability goals, reduce waste, optimize inventory management strategies, and more.
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To record all of this crucial information, Wholechain chose Algorand. Jayson Berryhill said: "It was very important to us to choose a blockchain partner that really embodies the same values we have in terms of environmental footprint, and overall impact—that's what made Algorand such a natural choice. Its performance, throughput, and particularly the zero-carbon footprint made Algorand a no-brainer for us."
Wholechain employs a robust cryptographic hash algorithm developed by the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) to ensure data remains secure. This sophisticated technology creates a unique digital fingerprint for each data point, allowing for instant verification of its authenticity and tamper-evident nature. This fosters trust between trading partners by guaranteeing the integrity of the information recorded on the blockchain.
Crucially, the Wholechain interface is user-friendly. While blockchain transactions and data exchanges are taking place under the hood, the mobile and desktop apps where users record data are simple and accessible—no need for stakeholders to manage nodes, cryptographic keys, or cryptocurrency. Further, Wholechain looks to minimize business disruption by offering API integrations, allowing its system to seamlessly connect with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, warehouse management systems, and other data collection technologies such as satellite monitoring and sensors. Wholechain also aligns with the GS1 EPCIS 2.0 interoperable data standard, ensuring data compatibility and allowing partners to share information efficiently. The system is also verified Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST)-capable, allowing seafood stakeholders to seamlessly exchange information.
Results
Many leading sustainability-focused companies across the world now rely on Wholechain to trace their supply chains, build customer trust, and support their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) claims.
In Madagascar, Wholechain replaced a time-consuming, paper-based system with digital farmer IDs and mobile data capture using QR codes. This reduced harvest data collection for 450+ farmers from days to hours, which not only expedited data collection, but also ensured greater security and tamper-proof records on the blockchain. Companies can now leverage this data, along with other third-party inputs, to corroborate responsible sourcing practices such as fair labor conditions for vanilla bean farmers.
Similarly impressive results were achieved in the traceability of Indian shrimp. In late 2021, Wholechain implemented its system for a major US importer, allowing them to trace shrimp back to the farm and feed source. This data, stored securely on the blockchain, helped identify an accidental mislabeling of origin at a distribution center. By catching this error before reaching retailers, a potential recall was averted.
Wholechain continues to innovate and expand its reach within the supply chain traceability landscape. In December 2023, Wholechain announced partnerships with major soy ingredient manufacturers and Rever Consulting, a Brazilian sustainability specialist. This collaboration aims to trace deforestation-free soy back to its farm origin, including soy used in aquaculture feed.
Building on successful pilot programs in South Africa and Oman, Wholechain is collaborating with the Yucatan Government, local entities, processors and buyers to enable a route-to-market for small-scale producers in the State. In partnership with the Global Seafood Alliance and Environmental Defense Fund, the program aims to implement Wholechain's traceability system and leverage the data to substantiate already-existent sustainability practices, certify producers, and generate demand for their product in the U.S. and domestic marketplaces. The program goes beyond just tracking catches; it covers the cost of certification, supports the continuation of sustainability practices, improves communication across the supply chain, and educates consumers. By ensuring transparency and responsible fishing practices, Wholechain's initiative offers economic benefits for both buyers and local communities starting in the Yucatan.
By leveraging Algorand's unique capabilities, Wholechain offers a solution that not only enhances transparency but also empowers businesses to meet evolving consumer demands and regulatory requirements. As it continues to scale and innovate, Wholechain is paving the way for a future of responsible and sustainable practices across global supply chains.
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