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Palm oil alliance utilises blockchain to improve supply chain

Written by: Supply Chain Online
Published on: 17 Sep 2018

PALM OIL

Palm oil alliance utilises blockchain to improve supply chain

A number of palm oil manufacturers, growers and organisations, as well as leaders in technological fields, have gathered together in a new alliance to implement blockchain solutions to improve the global supply chain.

With palm oil currently in focus in terms of how sustainable its sourcing patterns are, it is hoped that this idea will be able to bring everyone involved in palm oil production together to allow for traceable structures.

Central to this push is adherence to the NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) arrangement in place for palm oil production, and by using blockchain, the aim is to prove that steps are being taken towards these goals, and to appease public scrutiny.

The palm oil alliance has been termed SUSTAIN (Sustainability Assurance and Innovation Alliance), and brings together a number of large companies involved in the supply chain, including aspects of manufacturing, production, procurement and sourcing. With facilitation and technology companies already involved, it is hoped that more industry players will join in once the scope widens and the plan progresses further.

One such company involved is Apical, which produces and sells palm oil. Its President Dato’ Yeo How said that SUSTAIN was “not about building another traceability data collection tool, analytics or dashboard”, but instead aimed to “promote collaboration and align efforts”.

This would mean taking advantage of recent technological advances in reporting, analysing and measuring to provide a way to “address shared challenges in the supply chain”.

It is envisaged that the alliance will offer open access to a system with blockchain technology to share tools and knowledge where appropriate, as well as providing the natural transparency and availability of supply chains. This includes availability of best practice across the sector alongside the ability to trade FFBs (fresh fruit bunch) efficiently, microfinancing and policy compliance.