💸 Smooth on chain logistics payments

GM, GM!

You know how we break down the Web3 use cases every week in 4.3 minutes:

• 😰 The challenge

• 💡 The solution

• 👀 Take away for other industries

Today we bring you supply chain payments as smooth as the moonwalk.

😰 The challenge

Imagine you have a huge logistics network of suppliers and own subsidiaries.

To handle all the inventory flow, you have 70+ logistics companies.

And EVERYONE of them has its own information system, which can not talk to each other.

That’s the situation Walmart Canada was facing.

To make it even more complex every forwarder has its own calculation method for the shipping costs.

As a result, alignment had to be done manually - a work-intensive, time-consuming process that was riddled with mismatches.

💡 The solution

Walmart Canada decided to test a Blockchain network that gathers all the needed information and provides secure access to it only for the involved parties.

After reviewing 15+ chains, they decided to go with the open source Hyperledger Fabric.

The proof of concept between Walmart Canada and Bison Transport went live in 2019.

After an intense testing phase, the DL Freight platform was rolled out to the other 70 carriers.

The system constantly collects information on every step - from the carrier's quote to proof of delivery to payment approval. The information is automatically recorded and shared instantly. But only the people who are part of the transaction can see it.

To enable smooth integration with each system, they developed an integration hub and supply chain gateway as a point of contact for logistics providers.

It seems that the system is a complete success. Before DL Freight, over 70% of invoices were rejected. Today, less than 1% of invoices have inconsistencies that can be easily identified and quickly resolved. Gone are the days when payments took weeks or months; carriers are now paid on time.

👀 Take away for other industries

The key takeaway is:

Don’t try to replace legacy software solutions!

By setting up a new layer or platform , where every stakeholder can connect its legacy software, you can move much faster than onboarding everyone on the same software solutions.

Remember, in this case a Blockchain powered platform worked perfectly because of the needed trust. But you could also create a centralized cloud based platform solution with good API management so get the same results.

I’m curious to know:

How do you like these breakdowns? Just hit reply and let me know!

Cheers!