Every industry wishes to have a blockchain solution of its own and IBM through its partnership with Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project is concentrating on delivering what the companies want. Since Hyperledger’s Fabric blockchain attained production status, the number of entities using it through their partnership with IBM is increasing. The latest one to join the Hyperledger Blockchain bandwagon is Sichuan Hejia, which is in the process of creating a supply chain solution for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Chinese agro-tech and automotive parts company has partnered with IBM for the Hyperledger fabric solution. Other partners in the project include one pharmaceutical retailer, a hospital, and a banking institution. All these players together complete a simple pharmaceutical supply chain, and they aim to eliminate the financial challenges associated with the segment by creating and deploying a distributed ledger supply chain financial services platform. The platform, named Yijian Blockchain Technology Application System will be based on a permissioned blockchain setup.
According to the reports, the blockchain pharmaceutical supply chain finance solution by Sichuan Hejia and others will increase the transparency in transactions between the pharmaceutical outlets and hospitals. It will, in turn, reduce the credit risk, allowing small and mid-sized pharmaceutical retailers to secure loans from banking institutions readily. The use of blockchain technology combined with smart contracts can also reduce the time taken by healthcare organizations to settle the bills.
The implementation of blockchain technology in pharmaceutical business and its advantages were described to the media by the board chairman of Hejia Leng Tianhui, who said,
“The launch of the supply chain financial services platform marks a milestone for the cooperation between Hejia and IBM on the innovative application of blockchain technology. In the future, the platform will expand to include more industries to provide participating companies and financial institutions with transparent and efficient financing services built on blockchain-based innovation in a business model that will contribute to China’s economic development.”
In addition to offering support for the implementation of Hyperledger Fabric blockchain, IBM is also said to have provided critical inputs on the current condition of the supply chain finance industry and the operating practices of pharmaceutical retailers in China.
The use of blockchain technology for supply chain logistics and finance applications are picking up in the recent days. Many companies across the world are working on different blockchain platforms to increase the efficiency of existing infrastructure. The Maersk-IBM solution for shipping and logistics industry, Bajaj Electricals and Yes Bank collaboration for vendor financing and settlement are few examples.
In the coming days, one can expect more companies and financial institutions to get onboard these platforms or create their own dedicated solutions.
Ref: IBT | Image: Shutterstock
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