Computerworld reported that IBM’s new SPaaS “allows distributors, manufacturers and retailers to integrate their own data and networks – as well as those of their suppliers – onto a Hyperledger-based blockchain to track and trace products and parts. Among the data that can be integrated are IoT sensor systems for real-time shipment position location.” The October 11, 2019 article entitled “IBM launches blockchain-based supply chain service with AI, IoT integration” included these comments about IBM’s recently acquired Red Hat that “…allows developers and third-party apps to integrate legacy corporate data systems onto a distributed ledger”:
This is the first move from IBM in what we anticipate to be a significant investment in the reinvention of supply chains by global organizations in the coming decades.
Current IBM Sterling SOM [Sterling Order Management System] service clients include companies in distribution, industrial manufacturing, retail and financial services: Adidas, AmerisourceBergen, Fossil, Greenworks, Home Depot, Lenovo, Li & Fung, Misumi, Parker Hannifin, Scotiabank, and Whirlpool Corporation.
Outdoor sports retailer REI, for example, is using the Watson Order Optimizer for its supply chain to factor in the various goals it has throughout the year, such as product margin, shipping speed and fulfillment costs, and matches that to its inventory in its three distribution centers and 155 stores.
This is very exciting news!
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