Frequently asked questions
What is a blockchain supply chain platform?
A blockchain supply chain platform is a shared record of what happened to a batch of goods, written by several companies, that none of them can change afterwards. Each party records the events it is responsible for and signs them, while commercial documents stay in that party's own systems. The distributed ledger holds the chain of custody and the evidence that the record has not been altered.
Do we need blockchain, or will a database do?
A database does the job unless four things are true: several organisations write the record, they do not fully trust each other's data, no single party should own it, and somebody outside has to verify it later. With all four, a permissioned blockchain earns its place. With three, a signed append-only database and a clear governance agreement is cheaper and faster. Most traceability problems are database problems.
How long does it take to build a supply chain traceability platform?
The custom software development is rarely the long part of a supply chain traceability platform. A narrow first slice, one product family and two partners, is a matter of a few months. Partner onboarding then sets the pace, because it depends on other companies' priorities rather than yours. Measure how long the third partner takes to send a week of clean data, and plan the rest of the programme from that number.
What does EUDR require from our systems?
The main obligations apply from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators, with 30 June 2027 for micro-enterprises and natural persons on most products. Under the agreed simplifications, downstream operators and traders collect and retain the reference number of the due diligence statement made by the operator who first placed the goods on the market, rather than filing their own. In system terms, a reference number has to travel with a consignment and be retrievable on demand. Confirm your own scope with counsel.
Should the data go on-chain?
Most of it should not. Put hashes, event references, identifiers, timestamps and required reference numbers on the chain. Keep documents, certificates, photographs, prices, volumes and personal data in your own storage, with a hash on the chain proving the file has not changed. Commercial data on a shared ledger tells your competitors your volumes, and large files make the platform slow and expensive.
How do we get suppliers to send us the data?
Give them three doors and pick the one each partner can manage: an API for those who can build, a scheduled file in an agreed format for those who cannot, and a portal for those who will not. Then give each partner a named contact, a written definition of a valid event, and a test environment they can fail in safely. Supplier onboarding decides whether a supply chain management platform works. It is a programme management problem, not a technology problem, and it is where most traceability projects stall.
