Recap: Blockchain In Food Provenance – ToolChain part of efforts to make supply chains resilient

Recap: Blockchain In Food Provenance – ToolChain part of efforts to make supply chains resilient

by | News

Access to safe and nutritious food is key to maintaining physical and mental well-being as well as socioeconomic development.

Unsafe food strains healthcare systems and harms national economies, tourism and trade. The WHO estimates that food-borne diseases are responsible for 600 million people falling ill and 420,000 deaths every year and, according to market research agency Markets and Markets, the global food safety testing market will reach US$24 billion by 2023.

With rising demand for a transparent and better controlled food supply chain, producers are pressured to invest in new technology to stay ahead. Ensuring food safety however, is not an easy task. Supply chains are globally interconnected so good collaboration between governments, producers and consumers is required.

These challenges were the focus of VeChain’s 3rd webinar – hosted by Sarah Nabaa, VeChain’s VP for SE Asia & Australasia, and David Inderias, CEO of Fresh Supply Co and member of the APAC Provenance Council.

“Like building your own car” – David Inderias reveals the pointless nature of private chains

David Inderias, the vocal founder of Fresh Supply Co, isn’t known for beating around the bush. On May 13th, he co-hosted the VeChain Bootcamp alongside VeChain Southeast Asia & Australia GM Sarah Nabaa. As two founding members of the APAC Provenance Council, they were well-positioned to educate the audience on the challenges the industry faces in convincing producers and manufacturers to digitize their supply chains.

Inderias is under no delusions about the task at hand, and unlike others in the space, doesn’t have blockchain adoption as a primary concern. Instead he is focused on bringing value to his customers, whether it’s through blockchain, IoT, digital product identity services, or his ultimate wild card, improved trade finance. The APAC Provenance Council uses Mastercard and Alipay to decrease the time it takes b2b farmers to get paid for their labors, with one caveat – supply chain and provenance info must be verified. To do that, Inderias has entrusted VeChain as the main provider.

This is because he sees little value in building a private network himself, a strategy pushed heavily by large firms like IBM Blockchain and select Big Four accounting firms. He points out that companies in the past did this merely to “check a few boxes” and show their innovative side, without considering the value it brings. He compared it to building your own car, in the sense that it might be a commendable feat on its own, but leaves all kinds of questions regarding whether or not it can perform well enough out on the road. With a number of reliable and exceptional car companies on the market, why bother?

The exceptional car company in this metaphor is VeChain’s ToolChain, which Inderias claims allows him to quickly customize and iterate solutions for a wide range of producers and their vastly different needs. Sarah Nabaa recalled how at their first meeting, David was skeptical that VeChain might be a competitor – now he recognizes that they are one of the few companies with enough credibility and functionality to be trusted in the APAC Provenance Council.

Still, Inderias was pragmatic about the steps that would need to be taken. He wasn’t about to rush out and force solutions down a client’s neck, insisting that properly designing, assessing and reassessing the solution would be necessary to make sure it was done intelligently, and that it provided the most possible value to his paying customers. He laughed about cryptocurrency communities on the internet who often push blockchain projects to show transactions, stating “If you think it’s easy, why don’t you try and sell it [the solution].” He continued to say that his customers include ranchers and family-owned farms that have been operating profitably for multiple generations. “They don’t need you. They don’t think they need you. You better have a very clear explanation of why they need to change”.

Understanding that mentality is key to how Inderias runs his business, especially in an era plagued by COVID-19. He claims to be a technophile, but is aware that most of his customers aren’t. ToolChain allows him to skip the cryptocurrency and technical side and get right to the important stuff – helping his customers improve business processes.

Food supply chain strategies in post-COVID19 world

Sarah kept the pace going throughout the webinar with her own perspective on enterprise adoption. Drawing from her experience with clients, she shared the typical steps involved in a typical ToolChain project and explained how VeChain’s SaaS interface helps managers make better informed decisions.

Typical steps for a process builder project

In her view, the benefits of blockchain should not be restricted to the food industry and should rather be adopted by other industries to disrupt key areas like manufacturing, supply-chain visibility and automation, digitising chain of custodies and sustainability.

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Recap: VeChain’s 2nd Bootcamp and Jur’s 2nd Webinar go live at the same time

Recap: VeChain’s 2nd Bootcamp and Jur’s 2nd Webinar go live at the same time

by | News

On 12th May 2020, Jur and VeChain delivered their second webinars, with both starting at 10pm (UTC+8). We didn’t want you to miss out so here are the recaps. Don’t forget to watch the third instalment of the VeChain Bootcamp on May 13th at 8pm (UTC+8).

Philosophy and Technology come together to measure the risk towards the future

The Jur webinar series has been a refreshing touch to the blockchain webinar circuit – with speakers focusing on the practical application of the technology. Episode 2 was no different. Jur’s team once again introduced some elements of smart contracts and online dispute resolution to an active audience of lawyers and people with an interest in the legal field. The questions streaming in were generally about how the technology could be applied in practice, with issues such as regulation, jurisdictions, and enforcement as key concerns.

Mantalena Kaili speaks about her interest and concerns with technology

Mantalena Kaili of the European Law Observatory on New Technology was the special guest, giving an interesting talk about the issues facing global societies and the threats that technology may pose. 5G, blockchain, and AI were all big issues, particularly with the legality & ethical considerations of using them. Kaili noted that data was the “gold of our generation” and remained the biggest topic for discussion among regulators, researchers, and watchdog groups. She conceded that technology had a dark side, and that there are many questions remaining to be answered while regulators sit in uncharted territory.

Kaili was highly focused on technology in the justice system, even recalling the teachings of Plato and remarking that justice is a very serious system to be left to humans.

“We need the tools to make work better and fairer, replace inflexible bureaucratic structures with fragile parts. We need to replace what isn’t working correctly, but not humans.”

She closed by stressing that human intelligence combined with technology is key to addressing many of the issues facing society.

A New Era of Sustainable Fashion – My Story Enabled Sustainability Practice

VeChain’s second webinar covered the importance of sustainability and the value of blockchain for socially responsible companies.

Hosted by Jérôme Grillères, VeChain’s GM of Europe, and Gabriele Manno, DNV GL’s Head of Blockchain Solutions, it was a unique opportunity to understand how VeChain’s blockchain expertise and DNV GL’s domain know-how complement each other and enables them to define and map the data collection and processes required to build the right interfaces.

Gabriele started by explaining five key challenges faced by sustainable brands:

  • Customer engagement: building meaningful interactions with an increasingly connected, tech savvy and better informed consumer profile
  • Information sharing: providing relevant data to customers and stakeholders in the supply chain
  • Brand credibility: developing products customers can trust and using them to build customer confidence and loyalty for the brand
  • Technology adoption: leveraging new technologies such as IoT, blockchain or VR to increase process efficiencies
  • End-of-life solutions: designing disposal mechanisms such as recycling or upcycling to minimise a product’s impact at the end of its useful life

The presentation followed with an overview of My Story, the benefits of building it on ToolChain and how it creates value for businesses.

The benefits of using My Story

From a marketing perspective, My Story enables brands to interact with consumers in an interactive way. By scanning a tag or QR code, customers are forwarded to a landing page where information specific to the product of interest (such as design concepts, raw materials or sustainability certifications) can be reviewed. It gives brands an additional touchpoint through which to tell a story and showcase the company’s core values and what it stands for.

Simon Sinek: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”

With plans to grow My Story into a more comprehensive service, additional functionalities and the option to create landing apps will be introduced. Companies will be able to gamify the purchasing process and design new programs to engage with customers. Loyalty and social schemes, for instance, could be developed to incentivise consumers who buy sustainable products or recycle and donate unused items.

From an operational standpoint, My Story provides the benefits of digital authentication, monitoring and traceability; increasing assurance efficiencies, tackling anti-counterfeiting challenges and improving product quality and channel control procedures.

Jérôme and Gabriele shared how My Story has helped brands optimise their data measurement, auditing and verification process and how it enables brands to convert data into actionable insights. Gabriele proceeded by explaining VeChain’s role in My Story and how ToolChain’s customisable interface, compatibility with different types of data sources and flexibility to build tailored verification and certification checklist templates makes it the best blockchain available to power the service.

The webinar concluded with a brief discussion on what may happen as more fashion brands adopt My Story how the ecosystem will continue to expand.

What a future sustainable fashion ecosystem could involve

VeChain101 Analysis:

The webinars show that VeChain, DNV GL, and Jur both have a clear idea of where they need to be and how they can provide value to the business world. It’s impressive to see professionals like Gabrielle Manno and Mantalena Kaili taking the time to remark on this technology. However, it’s clear that these significant industry shifts towards fashion sustainability and decentralized justice will be a gradual transition. For My Story, the results are already starting to show up in our retail outlets. On Jur’s side, their CTO Luca Daniel offered a timeline of 2-3 months before the release of their next prototype, so interested users will need to be patient. One thing is for sure, with the role these solutions will play in society, the results will be worth waiting for.

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All you need to know about VeChain’s Bootcamp series

All you need to know about VeChain’s Bootcamp series

by | News

Whenever there are challenges, there are opportunities.

COVID-19 is forcing companies to rethink their daily operations and fast-track digital transformation. This puts pressure on businesses but accelerates the adoption of new technologies like blockchain. With increasing interest, VeChain has introduced VeChain BootCamp; an initiative to educate, grow and engage with potential clients, developers and the community via live stream webinars. The idea is to offer online courses on how to build business applications with VechainThor and ToolChain as well as to share key learning lessons from their partnerships. One thing to keep in mind during these webinars: They aren’t designed for the cryptocurrency community to learn about new partnerships and announcements. They are designed to help people not familiar with VeChain’s core service offering learn more about what digitalization can bring to a business, and why they should select VeChain as the platform to build on. The first one, with CEO Sunny Lu, was designed as an overall intro to the series, with the later ones focusing more on the actual implementation, use cases, and value to businesses.

Episode One: “The Missing Part of Mass adoption”

The BootCamp kicked off with an overview of the blockchain industry that included the value role played by businesses at each stage, and a rundown of VeChain; which included a quick mention of the ToolChain functionalities to be released in the coming months. The session probably didn’t cover new topics to most veterans but would have been particularly relevant for newcomers as it gave a comprehensive introduction to VeChain’s value proposition, its core values, sample partnerships and milestones achieved.  Something I hadn’t previously considered is the concept of data weighting. AI treats all data equally however, by adjusting the data based on their source and trustworthiness, more reliable decisions can potentially be made in the future.

Save & Exit

While Sunny confirmed that some projects have been postponed due to the coronavirus, it was good to hear that deals continue to be signed and that new products are expected from DNV GL. It would have been interesting to know what industries have shown a change in demand and by how much does VeChain expect its adoption forecast to be impacted (positively or negatively) in the coming years.

A video showcasing COS using MyStory to display the product’s sustainability certification was also shared. The landing page is a great opportunity to deliver the item’s unique selling point, suggest complementary goods and maintenance advice or gamify the purchase/shopping experience.

At one point Sunny made an analogy between the early internet days and the current blockchain industry. As he continued to explain ToolChain, I couldn’t avoid drawing similarities between ToolChain and WordPress, the popular CMS that helped take website development to the masses. Like WordPress, ToolChain provides a standardised and user friendly building service where no prior coding knowledge is required. Both simplify an otherwise complicated process and offer:

  • Core features such as ready-to-use templates tailored to your industry
  • Modularised functionality (e.g. plugins)
  • Technical customisation for more complex features (e.g SDKs & APIs for ToolChain)
  • Integration with 3rd party services
  • Minimal development cost and lead time
  • Value to business of all sizes

A quick roadmap showing the dynamic improvements coming to ToolChain

At the same time, while useful in many scenarios, neither is necessarily the best solution for every use case. WordPress however, benefits from a larger community that helps create user guides, tutorials, troubleshooting materials and a support forum; which helped it become the success that it is today. Hence, it was exciting to hear Sunny recognising that VeChain’s technical delivery has outpaced its knowledge base and that more resources will be released down the line. I’m curious to see how VeChain will approach this as companies like Google invest significantly on their educational programs (e.g. Grow with Google), professional certifications (e.g. Google Ads Certification or Google Cloud Certification) and help center catalogs in order to drive demand and onboard new customers.

Up next:

May 12th – Jérôme Grillères (VeChain) and Gabriele Manno (DNV GL)

A New Era of Sustainable Fashion: My Story Enabled Sustainability Practice

Not to heap the pressure on, but this is an event I’m looking forward to for one main reason: Gabriele Manno. As one of the core architects of MyStory, this speaker has a tremendous understanding of what businesses actually need from a technical solution. And unlike the VeChain speakers who have a natural bias to speak highly of their own blockchain, Manno is a third party who isn’t tied down to the platform. For people who have never heard him speak before, he is one of the most technical and business-savvy minds in the blockchain space.

Jérôme Grillères, VeChain’s GM of Europe, is another figure who doesn’t get the exposure some of the other GMs do. He is relatively reserved on social media so there should be a lot of interest in what his projects have been working on. As someone who has been working on ToolChain from the beginning, we are sure his presentation will take a deeper dive than what we saw in the first episode.

May 13th – Sarah Nabaa and David Inderias

Blockchain In Food Provenance: A New Ecosystem Play in Post-Covid World

Like Manno, Inderias is a third-party with a lot of wisdom to bring. His straightforward and blunt approach is great for an industry plagued by overhype and fixations on unrealized potential. Inderias has always been about practical business applications first, exactly the kind of person VeChain needs as a channel partner. His recently announced position as the head of the APAC Provenance Council is another step towards convincing the average goods producer that technology and innovation isn’t just a plaything for Fortune 500 companies to experiment with. On May 13th, David should explain how he plans to use ToolChain, and how it saves his company development effort.

Finally, Sarah Nabaa completes the first group of speakers by bringing the experience she has gained as the leader of VeChain’s Southeast Asia and Australia team. We asked Sarah what to expect, and she explained how excited she was to be working with the APAC Provenance council and suggested viewers tune in to learn more. She’s confident that a number of solid companies will be onboarded thanks to the work her and Inderias are doing in Australia and New Zealand.

Future Episodes

Further sessions are yet to be confirmed but Sunny hinted about a PoA 2.0-SURFACE presentation. The new consensus algorithm was announced earlier this February so it will be interesting to hear directly from Dr Peter Zhou, VeChain’s Chief Scientist. Stay tuned.

Note: VeChain released their own recap, available here.

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VeChain’s Blockchain Used to Aggregate and Track Coronavirus Data in the US

by | News

March 20, 2020 – Real Items and Coronavirusapi.com are working together to track medical data from the 50 individual US state websites.

Confirmed cases by state

After Coronavirusapi.com pulls their hourly update from the individual state websites, Real Items stores the data in IPFS, a decentralized storage site used by researchers, blockchains, and other peer-to-peer content sites. Once the data has been stored in IPFS, the associated hash is stored on an NFT (Non-fungible token) in the VeChain blockchain to provide an immutable timestamp of the information collected. This prevents the possible distortion of data through improper collection techniques or intentional misrepresentation.

Data being stored in IPFS

Collecting data during a pandemic is crucial, and one that agencies including the CDC have struggled with. On the CDC website, they acknowledge that their “numbers are not representative of all testing being done nationwide” and that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by states should be considered the most up to date.” With this in mind, aggregation sites like Coronavirusapi.com are performing a valuable service that is closely monitored by concerned citizens, researchers, medical organizations, and media outlets.

Real Items CEO David Menard believes that using NFTs and distributed storage can create a “Digital Smithsonian” – a type of trustable public record that didn’t rely on a single source to collect and publish their findings. Humans are susceptible to error and bias, making this type of automated collection more valuable to current and future researchers.

VeChain’s Response

After the story was first published on Coindesk, community analytics website VeChainStats was quick to offer their support in tracking the storage process. In addition to providing a third-party verification, VeChainStats will visualize the regular uploads so that the public can observe the creation of NFTs on the VeChain mainnet.

A few hours later, VeChain’s COO Kevin Feng announced on Twitter that they would be supporting this project by sponsoring the blockchain transaction fees. With each upload requiring a gas fee of around .17 cents, this could make the project more sustainable over a lengthy period of time. VeChain’s blockchain has several built in features including Multi-Party Payment (fee deferral), which allows Real Items to assign transaction costs to a third party. This simplifies the

https://twitter.com/kfeng027/status/1240823520927428608?s=20

Recapping the Process

  1. Data is reported on Official State websites
  2. Coronavirusapi.com uses web crawlers to pull data every hour
  3. Real Items uploads data to IPFS
  4. IPFS hashes are minted into NFTs on VeChain’s public blockchain
  5. NFT minting fees are paid by VeChain
  6. VeChainStats visualizes the NFT minting process for the public

While this process can sound quite complex, the tools created by Real Items and Coronavirusapi.com allow the workflow to be automated and smooth. This all results in up-to-date and verified data that can bring value to researchers, organizations, and people wishing to be more informed.

For more information, follow Real Items on Twitter, or visit Coronavirusapi.com.

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10 Things to do with Sync, VeChain’s Web Browser + Wallet

by | Guides

With the release of v1.2.2, Sync remains as the #1 choice for managing digital assets in the VeChain ecosystem. Developed in-house, the tool is much more than just a wallet, with access to a growing number of developer tools and applications. Let’s take a quick look at 10 things you can do with the web wallet and browser built on Chromium, the open-source software code that powers Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

10. Manage Wallets

This one sounds like a no-brainer, but Sync is really good at creating and managing wallets. And having multiple wallets is always a good thing. Wallets for saving, wallets for receiving funds from strangers, wallets for using on public dApps. Sync has no limit on wallets, so you could split up and organize your accounts to ensure the privacy and security of your digital assets.

9. Lucky Airdrops

If you’ve ever been in China, you’ve definitely seen this style of money transfer. Funds are placed into a virtual red envelope (smart contract), which can then be opened by anyone with the generated link. Good idea for a promotional giveaway, a party gag, or just a gift among friends.

8. Play 2048x

Long-time community developer “Raleigh_CA” came up with a fun twist to this mobile game – users must pay an entry fee (in VET or VTHO), which goes into the pot, and is given to anyone capable of breaking the high score. Controls are quite simple, and the strategy can be picked up easily, even for beginners. The developer has hinted more games might be on the way if this one goes well, so give it a try.

7. Check out your stats on Wallü & VeChainStats

For those who like to keep track of the size of their wallets, Wallü & VeChainStats are two similar tools from the same developer that give you the power to track and monitor various analytics, such as the total amount of VTHO claimed, your global ranking by asset, and much more. You can even tag and track known addresses, perfect for when you want to keep tabs on your whale friends trading patterns.

6. Trade tokens on Vexchange

Simple, fast, and easy, this decentralized exchange lets you make small, quick swaps between VET, VTHO, and other VIP180 tokens. Great for adjusting your portfolio, arbitrage opportunities, and turning that hard-earned VTHO into something new from the ecosystem.

5. Vote on VeChain governance issues (Coming soon)

We included this one since technically, the steering committee already used it. But nodeholders should get used to this, since it could play an important role in the future of the platform.

4. Make multiple payments with VeChain Tokens

If anyone is looking for a quick payroll solution, or just wants to try out VeChain’s Multi-Task Transaction feature that bundles multiple clauses into a single transaction, check out VeChain tokens. It’s .CSV file upload feature allows you to store a long list of addresses for repeated uses, so projects can make sure employees are paid regularly, without hassle. Sure would be handy if VeChain ever got around to launching that stablecoin!

3. Deploy your own smart contracts

This one might not be for everyone, but for developers looking to write, deploy, or test a smart contract written in Solidity, Inspector is a handy tool. Don’t take my word for it, read this Medium post by community developer AbyteAhead.

2. Manage your node and browse the marketplace with Node Manager

Our community developer bounty produced this very detailed tool for managing a wallet. The unique selling point about this dApp is the ability to buy, sell, transfer, or upgrade a node by having access to the node marketplace. This functionality was previously only available on the mobile wallet, making it difficult for Ledger users to buy/sell a node, or claim the VTHO that the node had generated. If you haven’t used it already, it’s a great way to take full control of any wallet already connected to Sync or Ledger.

1. Store funds on a Ledger device

Some users have no interest in dApps or the blockchain, and just want to hold assets as a long-term “store-it-and-forget-it” investment. Sync is the answer, as its secure interface let’s users access the hardware device without importing the wallet on to the device.

As the ecosystem continues to grow, we look forward to other dApps becoming Sync compatible.

Did I leave anything out? Let me know on Twitter.

Users can download Sync directly from VeChain: Link.

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