SAP pilots blockchain-based supply chain tracker

The SAP is working with more than two dozen products, pharmaceutical, tech, and shipping companies on an automated blockchain-based supply chain tracking system that it believes will bolster visibility and ensure the authenticity of goods such as food and drugs. The software giant is piloting its SAP Cloud Platform Blockchain with 16 farm-to-consumer produce suppliers such as Maple Leaf Foods, Johnsonville, Naturipe Farms, Tate & Lyle and Natura. SAP’s blockchain-as-a-service(BaaS) provides an abstraction layer that supports open standards, offers built-in integration with SAP applications. SAP customers who use its Cloud Platform can opt-in to pilot the blockchain ledger that runs on it, according to Hala Zeine, president of SAP's Supply Chain and Manufacturing group. From there, customers will soon be able to use APIs to connect the blockchain network to other applications, such as SAP HANA, an in-memory relational database management system, according to the company.