Blockchain-based digital services provider #dltLedgers last week announced its collaboration with enterprise technology provider, R3, to enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to address supply chain issues including security, transparency, and financing.

The collaboration, which draws upon the capabilities of R3’s open-source Corda platform and #dltLedgers’ blockchain technology, will enable clients to perform cross-border trade and international financing in a more “seamless” manner, Samir Neji, co-founder and CPO of Singapore-headquartered #dltLedgers, told CorporateTreasurer.

Due to the introduction of more rigorous international trade requirements in support of increased transparency and governance, “increased documentation requirements and added processes burden an already cumbersome payment and management structure. These then complicate efforts to enable seamless cross-border trade and international financing.” said Neji.

Through the provision of real-time data, the partnership seeks to simplify trade processes, offering increased visibility to encourage supply chain resilience and bringing benefits to SMEs operating across highly regulated banking environments such as trade finance and capital markets.

Using a shared ledger for each transaction, the collaboration utilises what Neji terms the “trust factor” offered by blockchain.

“Global supply chain is a chaotic symphony between various lynch points. Each point is critical and failure at even one point will bring the flow of materiel to a grinding stop. Multi-party systems support interactions between entities and organisations for mutual business performance, but may have limited trust.” 

Neji highlighted the platform’s “track & trace” tamper-proof capabilities as key drivers that securely “cut down operational time and costs with more visibility and trust for ESG data usability”. He added that corporates are able to review provenance details at each value-chain stage, enabling sustainable sourcing and ensuring compliance.

Being able to streamline such processes gives rise to the adoption of supply chain and wider industry ESG standards, he added.

“Global supply chain management is rapidly evolving, and it might be a challenge for businesses to remain up-to-speed with the constant changes taking place,” he said.

In the context of global disruptions resulting from the pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties, he touched on the trends he is witnessing across the corporate landscape.