By Jason Williamson

Our broken supply chains are proving to be a persistent problem.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has certainly upended these intricate networks used to ship and track goods, but it has also exposed long-standing cracks. And now that most of the pandemic-related factory shutdowns and misdirected shipping lines are behind us, we are still seeing lingering product shortages and the resulting price hikes from the grocery store to the gas pump.

I think many of us expected this issue to be resolved sooner. Like many, I hoped that after a short period of instability these knotted webs would unravel – traffic jams would ease and backlogs would be dealt with quickly until raw materials and finished consumer goods were once again buzzing in the whole world.

Instead, two years into the pandemic, we’re still finding everything from microchips to lunch meats in short supply.

Related Reading:

As I’ve seen so many times leading Oracle’s startup program, when a complex new problem arises, startups often take the initiative to bring innovative solutions to market. And I see that again with the current supply chain snafus.

Several young companies participating in our Oracle for Startups 1 program are taking cutting-edge approaches to not only help global supply chains get back to where they were in 2019, but also to improve these fragile networks with efficiency and safeguards. that position manufacturers, distributors and consumers for a post-COVID world.

blockchain

One of the more interesting approaches involves blockchain, the technology popularized by cryptocurrencies, but which has a much wider impact on finance and other sectors of the economy.

These immutable, distributed ledgers store a record of every transaction affecting a given product, be it a bunch of bananas or an integrated circuit, as it moves through a network of production and distribution at several levels. From points of origin to end users, complex chains of commerce can be carefully tracked, providing a level of security, contractual trust and quality control that was once unimaginable.

Circulor has combined this blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to provide a powerful solution to verify that raw materials are responsibly sourced and that products made from them are properly recycled afterwards. The London-based startup’s traceability-as-a-service offering can map even the most complex supply chains, giving consumers confidence when buying everything from automobiles to building materials, in the integrity of the entire product life cycle.

Another startup we support through Oracle for Startups, traced, specializes in mapping supply chains for fashion brands. This Düsseldorf, Germany-based startup solution enables fashion houses to certify raw textiles and their manufacturers. These tools help businesses by identifying supply chain bottlenecks in geographies affected by the pandemic. They also allow conscientious consumers to buy ethically with a QR code that can be scanned to learn more about sourcing and sustainability.

Blockchain technology can even help repair supply chains by eliminating the need to ship anything.

Paris-based Vistory is a startup solving new privacy and intellectual property issues in additive manufacturing, what most of us call 3D printing. With today’s supply chain issues, additive manufacturing is on the rise as it allows parts to be “printed” on-site, removing shipping issues from the equation, as well as transportation costs and associated carbon footprints. But 3D printing creates unique issues around data integrity, compliance certification, and intellectual property protection. To that end, Story’s flagship product, MainChain, deploys a private blockchain to build digital trust.

While software developed by innovative startups will go a long way in restoring the healthy flow of global commerce, what’s most exciting is the potential to create so many more solutions with powerful new technology that still hasn’t. not realized its potential. New companies, led by creative and entrepreneurial founders, will continue to experiment with blockchain long after our supply chains are repaired, and I can only imagine the benefits of all they come up with.

Jason Williamson is the Global Director and Vice President of Oracle for Startups and Oracle for Research. He has previously written for Crunchbase News on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Illustration: Dom Guzman