The World Economic Forum issued a report seeing at how the deployment of blockchain-based solutions can discuss the supply chain inefficiencies and failures that have been presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjacent the report, the WEF has issued a blockchain deployment toolkit designed to support government and businesses in adjusting their supply chains to the modern economic climate and to “accelerate an economic rebound post-COVID-19.”

World Economic Forums advocates DLT to restart the economy.

The report states that the flexibility of private and public supply chains has been tested among the coronavirus outbreak — indicating the supply chains of pharmaceutical products, medical supplies, and food among the sectors that have been hit the hardest.

The report claims that the efficiency of supply chains relies on transparency, advocating for the adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) to build a “shared truth” amongst supply chain stakeholders.

The World Economic Forum is a Switzerland-based non-governmental organization that was established in 1971 to join leaders in business, academia, and politics on crucial economic problems linking to the progress of the global economy.

WEF launches blockchain toolkit

To support business and governmental leaders in using blockchain-based supply chain solutions, the WEF has also started its “Redesigning Trust: Blockchain Deployment Toolkit” — which is designed to allow “leaders to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks” connected with DLT.

The toolkit was produced for over a year and saw contributions from more than 100 public and private entities crossing 50 countries — including the World Bank, Deloitte, Maersk, and the World Food Program. The DLT toolkit has been piloted in a diversity of contexts, including Saudi Aramco, Hitachi, and various small to medium-sized enterprises.

Adoption of DLT supply chain solutions increases

A growing number of major companies and institutions have spearheaded designing programs to use blockchain over their supply chains in current months. The United Arab Emirates is also nearing the deadline for the conclusion of its Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 — an ambitious program to migrate 50% of governmental transactions onto DLT-based platforms.

Consumer demand also drives supply chain adoption

In a statement, Rupert Colchester, IBM Australia, and New Zealand’s head of blockchain remarked that many businesses are executing DLT solutions over their supply chains in acknowledgment of greater consumer demand for transparency.

Colchester says in a statement that “consumers are demanding a new level of transparency,” adding that “consumers reward the supply chain when the transparency and sustainability are there.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that ethical egg producer Farmers Hen House had commenced printing QR codes on their cartons to enable customers to track the origin of their produce.

Fast fashion brand H&M also seems to be welcoming blockchain traceability for its premium clothing subsidiary Cos.