Accenture, Mastercard and Amazon Web Services create blockchain powered circular supply chain

Accenture has partnered with Mastercard, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Everledger, and Mercy Corps to explore solutions that will “empower consumers, enable transparency and promote financial inclusion for small-scale producers” through a circular supply chain. 

The circular supply chain model will enable greater sustainable best practice, drive empowerment and inform decision making to unlock innovation, create new channels of engagement and enhance brand reputation. It will combine blockchain, digital identity and payments technologies to allow customers to identify individual producers who use sustainable methods and financially reward them with a “tip” made by direct payment. The capability is also designed to enable producers, manufacturers and retailers to better manage their inventory and reduce waste; creating greater transparency across the supply chain; improving the authenticity of produce; and providing producers with more-equitable compensation for their produce by enabling consumers to reward them directly.

SEE ALSO:

• Read the latest issue of Supply Chain Digital here

• New JAGGAER survey benchmarks the digital transformation of procurement

• Hitachi becomes reseller of JAGGAER’s Global Source-to-Contract solutions

• JAGGAER appointed by Gruppo AGSM for procurement digital transformation

“Our identity capabilities are already empowering millions of users around the globe to access essential services like healthcare, banking and travel. Our circular supply chain capability combines these components with blockchain and expands its application to places and things, which is allowing us to rethink global supply chains,” said David Treat, a managing director and global blockchain lead at Accenture. “Through effective public and private partnerships, we can place sustainability and customer empowerment at the heart of global business models and we invite more partners to join us.”

“For the 3.4bn people — almost half the world’s population — that still struggle to meet basic needs, we believe that digital technologies are largely untapped," said Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President, Humanitarian & Development, Mastercard. "To put more people onto the path from poverty to prosperity, we need to create an ecosystem that streamlines access to education, health, commerce, and more. Through our work with smallholder farmers in Kenya, India, Mexico and elsewhere, we’ve deployed digital solutions helping to drive commercially sustainable social impact — and we understand that collaboration is essential for this journey.”

Leanne Kemp, Everledger’s founder & CEO said: “Our blockchain-enabled work aims to facilitate more connected, transparent and sustainable supply chains, which bring about trusted collaborations among stakeholders. Being a part of the circular supply chain capability with Accenture is a showcase example of ‘conscious consumerism.’ Everledger’s provenance platform ensures supply chain integrity alongside a global movement to drive the agenda on sustainability and reimagine tomorrow’s marketplaces.”