MOBI's member-led Supply Chain (SC) Working Group has released blockchain-based standards to facilitate a fast, safe, and secure supply chain, especially for electric vehicles (EVs), ultimately resulting in cheaper vehicle ownership.
MOBI is a nonprofit alliance of many of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers, startups, governments/transit agencies, NGOs, financial institutions, e-mobility providers, consultancies, suppliers, logistics providers, and blockchain protocols working to accelerate adoption and promote standards in blockchain, distributed ledgers, and related technologies.
The SC Working Group is chaired by Ford, with support from Accenture, AWS, Arxum, Autodata, CEVT, Denso, DLT Labs, Fifth-9, Honda, IBM, IOTA Foundation, ITOCHU, Marelli, NAIST, Politecnico de Torino, Quantstamp, R3, Reply, SyncFab, and Thirdware.
The vehicle supply chain consists of multiple stakeholders, including manufacturers, components suppliers, distributors, repair shops, and logistics providers. Such a complex global system can lead to fragmentation and cause challenges for manufacturers, including a heightened risk for disruptions such as the recent global shortage of semiconductors. Thus, the clear potential for a blockchain-based solution inspired MOBI to create its Supply Chain (SC) Working Group with the goal of enabling secure data exchange and enhancing parts tracking and traceability from raw material through production, use, and end of life.
According to Tram Vo, Co-director and Founder, MOBI, consumers increasingly demand sustainable mobility, such as EVs and advanced technologies such as connected telematics, autonomous driving, and advanced safety features. The standards released by the SC Working Group provide vehicle manufacturers and other ecosystem stakeholders with the framework to create a comprehensive, industry-wide, secure data management system that can be used for greater visibility into their global supply chain and facilitate seamless communication to manage production, maintenance, safety, and meet consumer and regulatory demands.
Cynthia Flanigan, Director, Vehicle Research and Technology, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, opined that leveraging emerging technologies such as blockchain will potentially make the supply chains much more transparent, efficient and resilient. In addition it will help manage major disruptions such as a tsunami, fire at supplier site, a global pandemic. 'We also think this technology could augment Ford's efforts in being a trusted partner to our supply chain,' he added.
Using blockchain as a trust anchor, SC Standards allow stakeholders to share data and participate in multi-party use cases while maintaining privacy and confidentiality in peer-to-peer communications. The standards also include creating decentralised parts identifiers to facilitate two-way traceability along the supply chain and open new opportunities for the rapidly growing EV battery market.
NB: Photos are representational.