25 leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, logistic partners, and other representatives of the pharma supply chain have published a report arguing in favor of adopting blockchain technology to track and trace prescription drugs after completing a pilot program with the US Food and Drug Administration. During early 2019, the FDA began accepting proposals for projects seeking to assist the office meet the 2023 requirements of the Drug Supply Chain and Security Act (DSCSA) - which requires the pharmaceutical industry to track “legal changes in ownership of pharmaceuticals in the supply chain.” In June 2019, the MediLedger Project was approved by the …

Walmart is currently making use of blockchain technology to create a food traceability system based on the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric. Along with IBM, the retail giant has already tested two proof-of-concept projects to examine its envisioned system. The first project deals actively with tracing the origins of the mangoes being sold across Walmart’s stores in the United States, while the other seeks to trace the pork meat being sold via the company’s different Chinese outlets. From an efficiency perspective, the research team at Walmart claims that by making use of this new system, the time needed to trace the …

A senior executive from American delivery services company FedEx is unconvinced about the benefits of blockchain technology in its present form, Memphis-based local news outlet Commercial Appeal reported on May 20. In a new interview, the firm’s dedicated blockchain strategist, Dale Chrystie, said FedEx remains pragmatic about blockchain despite its previous efforts to integrate it. As it stands, conventional processes covering the shipping database aspect of its operations are superior, at least in part due to the nascent stage of blockchain. “To kind of burst the bubble, it’s not our only database, it’s not our best database, it’s not currently …

Rob Carter, the chief information officer of American delivery services company FedEx, has called for uniform standards in the blockchain industry, tech-focused media outlet Computerworld reported on April 25. Speaking at the Blockchain Global Revolution Conference, Carter argued that mandated standards would help create uniformity for blockchains used in supply chains. He also noted the technology’s ability to improve the tracking of a good’s provenance and streamline the shipping process: "There is an incredible amount of information moving with an international package. An incredible amount of paperwork [such as] certificates of origin, and certain commodities require specific licenses. That information …

American courier delivery services giant FedEx has joined Hyperledger, an open-source project established to improve cross-industry blockchain technologies, according to a press release published September 26. Hyperledger, which is hosted by the Linux Foundation, enables organizations to build blockchain-based industry-grade applications, platforms and hardware systems in the context of their individual business transactions. In joining Hyperledger, FedEx has become one of over 270 members. Other member companies include IBM, Intel, Deutsche Boerse, and J.P. Morgan. Kevin Humphries, Senior Vice President, IT, FedEx Services said that blockchain technology has “big implications” for supply chains, logistics, and transportation. In February, FedEx joined …

The FedEx Institute of Technology has announced its partnership with pharmacy services company Good Shepherd Pharmacy to develop new blockchain-based infrastructure to help cancer patients get medications, news outlet Commercial Appeal reported July 6. The FedEx Institute of Technology is an organization that serves as a promoter of interdisciplinary research in emerging technologies that operates in tandem with the research infrastructure of the University of Memphis. The institutions launched the Institute in February of this year in order to make University of Memphis a center of technology and research. Memphis-based Good Shepherd Pharmacy reportedly recognized blockchain as a means to …

DHL is partnering with blockchain trade finance platform TradeIX, according to a presentation today, June 5, at the Money20/20 conference in Amsterdam. Becky Taylor, Vice President of Commercial at DHL Supply Chain UK and Ireland, spoke about how the company has been looking to “create more efficient networks” through digitization, including a way to “serialize products to be able to track that product through its life.” Taylor then announced the partnership by saying that DHL on its own “can’t achieve those types of funding rates to create an attractive price [for customers], so we started to work with Trade IX.” …

Delivery services multinational FedEx said it is “quite confident” blockchain has “big, big implications” for supply chains in a speech May 14, as it continues engagement with the technology. Speaking at the Consensus 2018 conference in New York Monday, FedEx CEO Fred Smith said that the time had come for businesses to ingratiate themselves with blockchain or face “probable extinction.” “We’re quite confident that it has big, big implications in supply chain, transportation and logistics,” he said during a panel quoted by Bloomberg and other sources, continuing: “It’s the next frontier that’s going to completely change worldwide supply chains.” FedEx …

Darkwallet’s Cody Wilson has been denied shipping support from FedEx over a device, which allows anyone to manufacture the bodies of anonymous firearms at home. Wilson, who is co-founder of “firearm-access nonprofit” Defense Distributed, unveiled the computer-controlled (CNC) mill (similar to a 3D printer), dubbed the Ghost Gunner, last year, but has been told by FedEx it will not be shipped to customers on “legal” grounds, Yahoo! reports. The US$1,500 piece of equipment, while not able to produce a fully-finished product, does allow users to manufacture bodies of an AR-15 rifle without a serial number. In a statement, FedEx explained: …