• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Think Tank » A Wine and Spirits Marketer Seeks Proof of Blockchain

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

A Wine and Spirits Marketer Seeks Proof of Blockchain

A Wine and Spirits Marketer Seeks Proof of Blockchain
May 20, 2019
Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Few industries stand to benefit from blockchain technology more than the wine and spirits business.

The promise of blockchain is that of an immutable record of business transactions, distributed among multiple computers so as to prevent tampering with the data. The system looks to be of particular value to industries that are highly regulated and require accurate records for their own purposes as well as those of government agencies. Which is where the business of alcoholic beverages comes in.

International Spirits & Beverage Group, Inc. (ISBG) is a producer and marketer of global wine and spirits brands. (Deploying modern-day tech buzzspeak, it calls itself “a disruptive brand incubator.”) Recently ISBG signed onto the blockchain platform known as Volum, to manage its sales and distribution processes.

Volum claims that its blockchain “ecosystem” is specifically designed for “farmers, manufacturers, distributors, public utilities, governing agencies, financial institutions and IoT [internet of things] data hosts.” The platform promises a means of conducting business securely, including the tracking and tracing of product, and the deployment of “smart contracts.” (A key element in blockchain technology, smart contracts are self-executing instruments that enforce negotiation and performance by the contracting parties.) Users can access all relevant data and functions from a single dashboard.

Volum is only about a year old, according to co-founder Arnaldo Detres, and ISBG is the first company to fully join the platform. Up to now, the entity has been in stealth mode, working out such details as IoT enablers, sensors, and how to serve the specific needs of supply chain and logistics. (Detres has a background in the liquor business, having previously worked with ISBG to develop products.)

The unique challenges of bringing blockchain to wine and spirits revolve mostly around satisfying regulators. “It’s not easy,” says Detres. “You can incorporate certain paperwork and processes in blockchain, but when it comes to external agencies for registration and processing, the transactions can be a little bit tricky.”

Detres says Volum wants to work with regulatory and taxing agencies to ease the paperwork burden. “Everything now is e-mail. You wait in line for licensing and registration, and the human factor makes it slower. We’re trying to see how we can streamline that process within the agencies.”

He’s realistic about the time it could take to convince trade regulators of the benefits of blockchain. “They’re open but very old school in the way they think. For anything related to government, there’s a trial period. It takes time.”

Blockchain technology is still limited in its ability to process multiple transactions on a timely basis, adds Detres. “But right now it’s moving efficiently. We’re going by trial and error.”

Blockchain allows for a better way of keeping and reporting payments and other financial transactions, as well as tracing the movement of product from origin to the end customer, Detres says. Bottling and labeling, which involve careful recordkeeping of lot numbers, are also processes that lend themselves well to management on a blockchain.

Volum is still working on streamlining or eliminating the paperwork involved in importing and exporting, as well as creating a marketplace for suppliers of distilleries, he says. And it’s just beginning to bring carriers and drivers into the loop.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, Volum based its technology on Ethereum, the public, open-source blockchain platform on which anyone can build decentralized applications. At the same time, says Detres, Volum is operating on a partially private blockchain for certain internal transactions and sensitive data. The actual number of nodes on which ISBG-generated transactions and data will be stored has yet to be determined.

ISBG’s initial focus is on ensuring that the contents of Besado, its brand of tequila, can be traced all the way back to agave farmers. It’s essential to be able to validate the product’s quality, history and geographic origin, all details that can be stored on a blockchain, Detres says. ISBG also recently launched a CBD (Cannabidiol)-based product to which the Volum blockchain platform can be applied.

Detres says Volum is aiming for late spring to go live with the blockchain for ISBG’s tequila and CBD products. At the same time, it’s conducting trials with companies in additional industries, including bottle manufacturing, healthcare, construction, import and export, and two more liquor brands.

To be sure, these are early days for blockchain technology, which has yet to prove itself as a workable system for all types of businesses, large and small. Alonzo Pierce, president and chairman of ISBG, said in a statement that the company “is eager to incorporate Volum into our supply chain system and support its technology as a combined method of blockchain and enterprise innovation that will contribute to both customer and revenue growth. We’re excited to experience this accelerated pace of paperwork processing, as well as the tracking and tracing of product distribution we execute internationally.”

Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain) Sourcing/Procurement/SRM Supply Chain Visibility Regulation & Compliance Food & Beverage

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing