Companies receive funding to develop blockchain for steel supply chain

OTTAWA – Two Canadian companies are working to develop a proof of concept for a digital tracing system enabled by blockchain and artificial intelligence for the Canadian, and possibly North American, steel supply chain. The tool seeks to capture activities across the steel supply chain to provide government and industry users with better information on supply and demand, origin, and the quality of inputs and outputs.

Peer Ledger Inc., based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Mavennet Systems Inc., based in Toronto, Ontario, will each receive an investment of up to $150,000 through Innovative Solutions Canada, a program that invites Canadian small businesses to develop innovative solutions to address government challenges.

The funding will support research and development activities to build a prototype specific to the steel supply chain. If selected to continue to the program’s next stage, one of the two companies could receive up to $1 million over two years to refine its prototype.

Steel products and inputs are not being comprehensively or securely traced with modern digital systems. Access to information related to the steel supply chain is also worsened by a lack of a standardized information-sharing mechanism which can result in delays in acquiring relevant data impacting government operations and steel business profitability.

Currently there are no known applications of artificial intelligence analytics on Canadian steel sector information. Moreover, tools for trade and border activity are not optimizing tracing (blockchain) and AI technology in the steel sector.

The challenge is to develop a digital tool that would trace inputs and outputs in real time in the steel supply chain — upstream and downstream — using blockchain technology, and apply artificial intelligence enabled data analytics on this information, to better capture activities across the steel supply chain.

For industry, in particular downstream firms, it would offer product supply and demand predictions, instant verification of origin and quality of inputs and products (allowing for confirmation of responsible sourcing), reduced costs, increased efficiency and productivity, and predictive insights about inputs, use and demand metrics.

The technology could also be used by government to ease and digitize customs clearance procedures.

For more on blockchain, watch for the Inside Logistics February 2020 print edition.