Indian auto sector plans to implement blockchain for vendor management

Automobile companies and component makers are looking to implement a blockchain solution for vendor management purposes in what is being dubbed as one of the largest deployments of the emerging technology in India, tech news website FactorDaily reported.

The deployment plan follows proof-of-concepts conducted by Mahindra Group and Bajaj Electricals Ltd, the report said. It added that this would be the first deployment of blockchain in a large industry in India as auto companies and components makers rake in total annual revenue of nearly Rs 10 trillion.

The auto industry currently runs a cloud solution, developed with the help of IBM, called autoDX to manage invoices, purchases and shipping orders. Nearly 60 companies are using the solution. As per the report, the autoDX or its capabilities will be put on the blockchain network managed by a smart contract system.

The report cited Vijay Sethi, chief information officer at two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd, as saying that discussions on putting things on blockchain industry-wide had started.

Blockchain will help the industry save costs and time, the report said, adding that all companies individually need not develop their own blockchain solutions if there is a universal hyperledger. Blockchain will also help improve transparency and visibility to the supply chain, the report said.

Interest in blockchain solutions in India has picked up after finance minister Arun Jaitley in his annual budget speech said earlier this year that the government would look to employ the emerging technology to solve various issues. The government's top policy think tank, Niti Aayog, is working with companies such as IBM and ConsenSys to implement blockchain solutions in the education, health and the financial sectors.

FactorDaily had earlier reported the government's intention of using blockchain to curb the menace of fake drugs.

Earlier this year, in an interview https://www.techcircle.in/2018/03/30/ibm-working-with-banks-fmcg-firms-smes-to-deploy-blockchain-in-india-jitan-chandanani with TechCircle, Jitan S Chandanani, blockchain leader at IBM, had said the company was working with several consortiums and private firms to implement blockchain solutions in India.