Blockchain Technology has added one more business sector to its kitty as Indian conglomerate Mahindra has decided to use the technology for its grapes export business. This strategic move of the Mahindra is aimed to dispel concerns of the global market about the transparency of its supply chain and overall brand image of Indian grape export market.
Allaying the customers’ doubts
Commenting on the development, Ashok Sharma, Managing Director and chief executive officer of Mahindra Agri solutions Limited, said the company is the first one in the world to adopt blockchain Technology for its grapes export business. This implementation will help the customers to be assured about the quality of grapes they are consuming. The top executive of the company believes that blockchain will drastically change the scenario of food export industry in India and prove a milestone in the way future business will be carried out. Sharma acknowledges the well-known fact that there are very few cases when it comes to the implementation of blockchain technology in India and Mahindra is proud to be the one to adopt it.
Trial Run
Mahindra plans to export around 800 to 900 containers of grapes this season, out of which 40 to 50 will be equipped with blockchain technology. The supply chain for the whole process has already been set up, and if the trial runs result in a positive affirmation from the customer, the company will equip more containers with blockchain technology from the very next season. The process of dispatch will start tentatively in the month of January or February, and for now, the focus markets for the company will be Europe and China. Mahindra is rigorously working on to create technological differentiation with customers which, in turn, help to uplift the image of the Indian export market. There are challenges for Indian grapes in the Global market where people are concerned about farming practices used in India, the supply chain status, and even about ethical issues related to farming. Over the years, all these concerns have come together and now threaten to put a question mark over the brand image of the Indian grapes.
Game changer move
Calling this move as a game changer, Sharma added that adoption of blockchain technology would help to develop a complete ecosystem which allows the customer to track all the details of the product and its supply chain with the help of a special digital code. This code will contain all the information about the stakeholders involved in the production and distribution of the grapes and include information like farmer details, harvesting and lab testing dates, government certifications, farm images, and kind of pesticides or chemicals used in the farming, etc. This will allow the consumers to have all the necessary information about the product, thereby allaying their doubts regarding the quality of the grapes.
Mahindra will be using its in-house expertise to develop this technology. This latest adoption comes as another indication that blockchain technology is rapidly widening its users base as more businesses across the industries are embracing this open distributed ledger system for enhancing the speed and efficiency safely and securely.