Helveta aims to change the way supply chains are managed. With their software platform CI World™, Helveta is providing a solution to extended supply chain industry sectors (their initial two targets are the food and timber sectors) to enable an auditable chain of custody.
What does this mean? Specifically, it allows lumber and wood companies, fair-trade producers, and even local companies reliant on these industries for business such as diamond blade suppliers in WA to validate claims that their supplies are sustainably harvested, that their supply chain is held to rigorous standards, as well as providing risk assurance on extended supply chain purchases, and even royalty collections.
The program works as follows:
Business information is captured in the forest, factory floor, in the farm, field, or elsewhere in the field using handheld devices. These handheld devices have proprietary software, which combines handheld data entry with data from GPS, RFID and bar code readers to create records of how assets are being managed and processed.
Data is then transmitted to servers, which are then able to create user-generated reports and analysis to generate inventory maps, management reporting and audit history for any and all transactions relating to managed assets. The CI World™ platform has been used to demonstrate product origins from locales as diverse as Nigeria and Bolivia.
Photo Credit: Fair Trade Chocolate by jetalone via Flickr’s Media Commons
