The COVID-19 health crisis has severely affected major supply chains around the world. Accelerating a global economic fallout, caused by panic-driven financial market crashes and temporary shutdowns of innumerable businesses, the pandemic situation has led to a lapse of trust among consumers. With the supply chains in shambles, the manufacturers and suppliers are unable to provide the consumers with essential and critical goods. This also poses a high risk of counterfeit infiltration, which further hits the trust factor.
Considering the present situation, market researchers believe that the lack of trust among consumers is likely to persist in the post-pandemic period as well, which demands a long-lasting and comprehensive solution.
A group of British researchers has risen to the occasion addressing this pressing matter by developing a blockchain-backed certificate to manage the risks in a supply chain, that is caused by the pandemic. It is an initiative to ensure the consumers that the goods within the supply chain pose no threat to their health and well-being. The researchers aim to integrate the existing supply chains with an automated and secured solution so that the bond of trust between the suppliers and the consumers remain intact.
The Blockchain-based Coronavirus Clearance Certificate (CCC)
The aforesaid project is a collaboration between Birmingham City University and the non-profit Centre for Citizenship, Enterprise, and Governance (CCEG). They have launched the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies Centre headed by a group of researchers who are developing the CCC or blockchain-powered Coronavirus Clearance Certificate.
According to the researchers, the CCC certificate can be given to products, organizations, businesses, and even people. The certificate will authenticate that all necessary COVID-19 precautionary measures were taken and that the product poses no health risk.
The initiative also aims to address the concerns related to ethical practices and compliance of the logistics and value chain that have cropped up in the wake of the pandemic. It will be able to track the life cycle of any product. The certificate attests that the supplier maintained the highest standards of sustainable sourcing and producing, public health, and ethics. It will also allow one to verify the level of supply risk due to the novel coronavirus, paving the way for a smarter and reliable supply chain.
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The government bodies are now trying to leverage blockchain to mitigate public health challenges. Reportedly, the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications has announced a collaboration with the European Commission and University College London to manage and coordinate several blockchain initiatives that have been deployed in the wake of the ongoing pandemic.
CCEG, which is the prime contributor in the Coronavirus Clearance Certificate initiative, has been a champion of new-age technologies like blockchain, AI, 5G, IoT, etc, since its inception. They conduct research and development on how the emerging technologies the social and overall living conditions of the general population.
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