IBM launches blockchain-based supply chain service with AI, IoT integration

IBM this week launched a new supply chain service based on its blockchain platform and open-source software from recently-acquired Red Hat that allows developers and third-party apps to integrate legacy corporate data systems onto a distributed ledger. Through the use of open APIs, the new Sterling Supply Chain Suite allows distributors, manufacturers and retailers to integrate their own data and networks – as well as those of their suppliers – onto a Hyperledger-based blockchain to track and trace products and parts. Among the data that can be integrated are IoT sensor systems for real-time shipment position location. "This is the first move from IBM in what we anticipate to be a significant investment in the reinvention of supply chains by global organizations in the coming decades," an IBM spokesperson said via email. The "As a Service" model delivers services, not products; flexibility, not rigidity; and costs that align to business outcomes.