The great value of combining blockchain and supply chain traceability 

Blockchain is not that complicated to understand. The core concept is similar to a database in the way it electronically stores large amounts of information between numerous users. It differs from a typical database in the way data are collected and stored in blocks that are chained together. As new information come in, it is recorded into a fresh block. 

When a block is added, it is set in stone and becomes a part of the chain with an exact timestamp and a cryptographic signature. This method makes data irreversible and tamper-proof. If one block in a chain was changed or hacked, it would immediately stand out from the chain and the tampered block would easily be pinpointed. 

Unlike a typical database, a blockchain has a full record of data that has been stored since its inception. No one can alter the information without leaving traces. The technology is thus, completely immutable, irreversible and secured.  

Blockchain technology creates and enhances the level of trust between all actors along a supply chain: from the end consumers, to brands, suppliers and third parties. It makes a traceable product, a product for which, we have a reliable track record of its supply chain. 

Respect-code builds on the KSI® Blockchain technology 

Product DNA uses the KSI® Blockchain technology developed by Guardtime®, the world’s leading enterprise blockchain company, in partnership with SICPA, leading global provider of secured authentication and identification. 

Thanks to its open-source verification process, the KSI® Blockchain offers full transparency via a public key accessible to anyone in the Financial Times every month. Therefore, the signatures can be verified by anyone, using their own software. It also offers the greatest scalability with an infrastructure that allows up to 1 exabyte (or one million terabytes) of data per second and is not vulnerable to hacks from quantic computers. 

The KSI® Blockchain is used in respect-code.org for signed supply chains and signed certificates, reducing the risk of fake information.

Blockchain technology leveraged by a handshakes system

Product DNA gets a step further in the reliability of information. In addition to the benefits of blockchain, the company reinforces the collaboration and commitment among actors of a supply chain by introducing an exclusive system of signed handshakes.  

The handshakes tool considers each actor in the supply chain as a delocalized validator. Each supplier confirms his added value to the product thus, adding additional credibility and accuracy to the existing data recorded in the blockchain. 

Handshakes can be done in real time or asynchronously, while maintaining their value and reliability thanks to the immutability of the blockchain.