Chain Reaction is Sourcing Journal’s discussion series with industry executives to get their take on today’s logistics challenges and learn about ways their company is working to keep the flow of goods moving, efficiently and sustainably. Here, Mesbah Sabur, founder of leading blockchain platform Circularise, discusses how the company’s software solutions for digital product passports (DPP) provide a secure, decentralized and collaborative platform for improving supply chain sustainability and transparency.
Name: Mesbah Sabur
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Title: Founder
Company: Circularise
What industries do you primarily serve? Which industry do you think has the most to teach fashion about improving its supply chain logistics?
Circularise is a Dutch tech startup that develops DPPs to enhance transparency and sustainability in complex supply chains and accelerate the world’s transition to a circular economy.
Circularise’s software system helps suppliers in chemicals, plastics, battery materials, metals, automotive, aerospace and more to trace materials and share their environmental footprint without jeopardizing their sensitive data.
To improve supply chain logistics—in terms of transparency and traceability—the fashion industry can learn a lot from practices in the automotive, food and pharmaceutical industries. In fact, each of these industries has implemented unit-level traceability practices that can be instructive for fashion.
What are the main things brands and retailers could do (or stop doing) right now that would immediately improve logistics?
In the pursuit of improving logistics, there are several things that brands and retailers can do with blockchain and DPP.
First, they can embrace transparency by implementing blockchain technology to create a DPP. This enables the secure and traceable recording of product information, including origin, composition and manufacturing processes, facilitating streamlined logistics operations.
Second, brands and retailers should prioritize collaboration with supply chain partners, actively sharing information and fostering transparency throughout the value chain. This collaborative approach enhances efficiency, minimizes delays and optimizes inventory management. Moreover, companies should consider sustainable practices such as eco-friendly packaging, optimizing transportation routes and leveraging blockchain’s potential to enhance supply chain sustainability.
Lastly, brands and retailers should invest in emerging technologies like blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to leverage real-time data insights, automate processes and optimize overall logistics performance. By adopting these measures, brands and retailers can immediately enhance their logistics operations and contribute to a more sustainable and efficient future.
What is your company doing to make the movement of goods more sustainable?
Circularise helps move goods more sustainably by providing a DPP platform that enables greater transparency and traceability in the supply chain. By creating a digital record of each product’s journey from raw materials to finished goods, Circularise unlocks insights into the environmental and social impact of a company’s products and identifies opportunities for optimization and improvement.
When it comes to creating efficiencies, there are quick wins and longer plays. What are a few things your company is doing to help its partners succeed on both fronts?
Circularise’s blockchain-based platform can help brands and retailers improve transparency and traceability in their supply chain. By creating a digital passport for each product, Circularise helps companies track the journey of raw materials and components from suppliers to finished products. This can help identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement, like reducing waste, improving quality and optimizing logistics processes.
Second, Circularise’s platform can help companies prioritize long-term sustainability and ethical practices by providing visibility into the environmental and social impact of their products. This information can be used to make more informed decisions about sourcing, manufacturing and distribution.
Lastly, Circularise’s platform enables collaboration between brands, retailers and suppliers, facilitating the sharing of data and insights that can drive continuous improvement in logistics processes. By working together, companies can identify opportunities for automation and digitization, improve forecasting and planning and optimize inventory management.
What is the one thing brands and retailers could be doing to make better use of technology to improve logistics?
Establishing a unified digital platform in collaboration with suppliers can take logistics to the next level. By implementing a shared digital platform, brands and retailers can seamlessly collaborate with their suppliers to capture, exchange and analyze real-time data throughout the supply chain. This platform should integrate technologies like blockchain, IoT and data analytics to enable transparent and traceable information flow, leading to enhanced visibility, efficient inventory management, optimized transportation and improved decision-making.
Are you optimistic about the state of supply chains in the next few years?
We can only speak from Circularise’s perspective, providing our own vision of the state of supply chains and the potential impact of Circularise’s solutions. Overall, while the state of supply chains is complex and rapidly evolving, Circularise’s solutions can help address some of the key challenges and opportunities facing companies today.
