IBM Battles Medical Supply Chain Shortages With Blockchain

Tech giant IBM has announced a blockchain-based network designed to help government agencies and healthcare organizations identify new, non-traditional suppliers who have pivoted to address the shortage of equipment, devices and supplies needed for COVID-19 relief efforts.

The solution, called IBM Rapid Supplier Connect, can reportedly help healthcare organizations and government agencies in the US and Canada rapidly identify and onboard alternative vendors. The network also helps identify existing supplies and excess inventory going unused, allowing hospitals to make it available to others and redirect supplies where they are needed most.

Rapid Supplier Connect currently includes several major New York healthcare providers, and The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, which is onboarding more than 200 American suppliers from its 3,000 global community members. The solution is available at no cost until August 31, 2020 to qualified buyers and suppliers in the US and Canada.

“Buyers who access the network can benefit from a broader range of suppliers outside of their traditional supply chain, a streamlined supplier onboarding process, validation checks and inventory information in near-real time,” IBM said. “Suppliers benefit from a portable online identity, credentials that are validated by users and the ability to post and manage inventory availability. Real-time insight into a volatile and uncertain supply chain is never simple, and with the challenges of the current global situation, IBM harnessed the Trust Your Supplier blockchain-based identity platform built by Chainyard, in conjunction with its existing Sterling Supply Chain Suite and highly scalable Inventory Visibility microservice to deliver this increased visibility.”

According to IBM, while it complements existing supply chain networks and their payment systems, the new solution also allows buyers to use the services of a third-party paymaster, CDAX, which will secure funds on behalf of buyers in a custody and settlement account, holding goods ordered contractually from the supplier under a consignment arrangement until the buyer verifies acceptance of the order and releases funds to the seller.