Sonoco ThermoSafe will sponsor an industry-wide cold-chain blockchain

The PharmaPortal platform is built on IBM’s Blockchain Transparent Supply technology

For several years now, various players around the logistics of temperature-senstive pharmaceuticals have looked into blockchain technology, and some have adopted blockchain-like features in their data-handling systems. Now, one of the leading providers of cold-chain packaging—Sonoco ThermoSafe—is plunging in with both feet. The company has partnered with IBM to set up what will be called the PharmaPortal platform, and the stated goal is to develop a vendor-neutral to “to trace assets across many different supply chain participants, record a single version of the truth on all events generated on a package’s journey, integrate this data with that of other businesses across an industry-scale network, and provide access controls to help ensure each data owner maintains control over who can access it on the network,” according to Sonoco.

IBM has invested heavily in blockchain for the past several years, mostly involving HyperLedger Fabric, one of the version of blockchain that supports “smart contracts” (a way to have self-acting files or documents that could, for example, complete a sales transaction when the correct data has been provided). Around 2017, it announced the IBM Food Trust, which now has over 200 member organizations that share data on the provenance, quality and status of food products in a supply chain.

Source: Pharmaceutical Commerce

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