Is blockchain the missing link in the Halal supply chain?

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the May-June 2018 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

May-June 2018

Last month, I was in Atlanta at the Modex trade show. In one sense, it is a tribute to the automation technologies managing today’s distribution networks. And, I’m not only talking about automated materials handling systems, but also the software and NextGen technologies such as robotics, wearable technologies, including smart glasses and augmented reality solutions and sensors enabling the Internet of Things. In another sense, all of these solutions are coming together to drive fulfillment. With the increase in e-commerce, getting the right product to the right customer at the right time has never been more important.

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Occasionally, an innovation arrives that appears to be a tailor-made solution for a long-standing supply chain problem. A current example is the emergence of blockchain technology as a means of improving the traceability of food products, and the urgent need for improved traceability in the Halal food supply chain.

It’s a highly complex supply chain that requires trading partners to adhere to rigorous product segregation practices. All too often, however, these practices are not rigorous enough, causing failures that have eroded consumer trust.

Enter blockchain: a technology designed to engender trust with an immutable, tamper-proof database of product flows. The technology does indeed offer much promise as a solution to Halal traceability issues—providing a number of potential pitfalls can be overcome.

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