Ljubljana based start-up OriginTrail created the first purpose-built protocol for supply chains based on blockchain technology. The company attracted more investment capital than any other Slovenian start-up last year – and received Walmart Food Collaboration Center’s innovation award.
2017 was a record year for Slovenian start-ups. According to the Silicon Gardens Fund, Slovenian start-ups managed to attract 140 million US dollars, or around 120 million euros – the highest amount to date. The year’s best deal was the initial coin offering (ICO) by OriginTrail. This Ljubljana-based company offers the first purpose-built protocol for supply chains based on blockchain technology, and managed to raise 22 million dollars (almost 19 million euros).
OriginTrail's solution offers a truly revolutionary development for logistics based on supply-chains. It thus comes as no surprise that OriginTrail was last year the first blockchain start-up to receive Walmart's Food Safety Innovation Spark Award – a part of the innovation program of US retailer’s Food Safety Collaboration Center in China.
More precisely, Walmart awarded not the company per se, but rather the application of its technology in a pilot project with the Chinese online premium food store Yimishiji. OriginTrail's blockchain solution allowed the local producers to “transparently communicate accountability and product journey in the marketplace”. The blockchain technology allows all the members of a supply chain to verify the provenance, authenticity and journey of the products. The protocol reduces information gaps, enhances transparency and thus builds trust among all the members in a supply chain, all of which vastly increases efficiency.
OriginTrail is implementing three other pilot projects in China. All are focused on food supply chains. “In the crowded Chinese environment that has already witnessed some large-scale food safety scandals, consumers are paying more attention to the issues of traceability and certified origin,” explains the company on its blog. However, the technology is far from being limited to food supply chains, and could be used in any other supply chain at the local or global level. The protocol supports the GS1 global standards for data exchange, and can include Internet of Things data.
