Vodafone and Sony to combat supply chain fraud with blockchain

Subsidiaries of Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD) and Sony (NASDAQ: SONY) are embracing blockchain technology in their quest to crack down on supply chain fraud as the broader industry seeks novel solutions to age-long challenges.

Pairpoint, the brainchild of a partnership between Vodafone and Japanese-based Sumitomo Corporation, has teamed up with Sensos to explore the viability of a blockchain-based smart label feature. Sensos, launched in 2022, is a subsidiary of Sony Semiconductor Israel with considerable experience in the space despite being in operation for less than three years.

The collaboration between Pairpoint and Sensos will see both entities leverage their respective strengths to roll out a viable product in the coming months to revolutionize the supply chain landscape.

For starters, the partnership will use Sensos’ Internet of Things (IoT) tracking solution, which uses its smart label, to ensure efficient supply chain processes. The solution, coupled with an AI-based control tower, will allow the offering to collect data and issue real-time alerts to clients without increasing operational costs.

“Using Sensos’ cellular tracking labels and AI-powered control tower to detect supply chain anomalies alongside Pairpoint’s digital identity, trust, and transactional platform, all goods’ movements – from port departures to final deliveries – can be securely and immutably recorded,” read a statement.

The partnership with Pairpoint will introduce blockchain into the mix to ensure data transparency and immutability. Pairpoint’s parent company, Vodafone, has been making significant inroads with blockchain, famously pitching its Digital Asset Broker trading platform with a heavy capital injection from Sumitomo.

Per the statement, the offering will require a printable sensor device above the underlying Sensos’ supply chain solution and Pairpoint’s blockchain-based platform to make logistics transactions tamper-proof.

“Technology underpins superior supply chain management together with deep insight and a strong solution,” Osi Tagger, chief executive at Unilog, said. “By navigating across numerous partners, we can deliver a seamless set of robust services for costumers that build on the strong Sensos and Pairpoint alliance.”

Neck deep in experience

All the players in the space have garnered a wealth of experience in recent years, with Pairpoint’s parent companies—Vodafone and Sumitomo—splurging nearly $100 million in blockchain research. The Japanese-based Sumitomo is testing the waters with tokenization while Sony has dipped its feet into blockchain-based gaming and metaverse.

Sensors’ smart label solution has seen action in the pharmaceuticals space with Bayer while scoring home runs following an integration by supply chain heavyweight DB Schenker. Experts are of the opinion that a cross-pollination with DLT will open new possibilities for Sensos while improving processes in the supply chain vertical.