Big Four Audit Firm KPMG Introduces Blockhain Powered Supply Chain Tracking Platform

KPMG, one of the Big Four audit firms, has rolled out a blockchain powered tracking platform in China, Japan and Australia.

The system, named KPMG Origins, is structured to improve transparency, while enabling tracking of various procedures in several industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and financial services.

The media release also points out that the official roll out of KPMG Origins in the aforesaid countries have happened after successful trial installations with clients in respective countries.

KPMG Origin aims to enhance supply chain procedures by fusing several budding technologies such as blockchain and Internet of Things.

The platform facilitates trading associates to exchange product info across their supply chains to final customers, while minimizing operational difficulties.

The participants in the trial of KPMG Origins include SunRice, one of the top branded food exporter in Australia, vineyard Mitchell Wines and Canegrowers, an association of Australian sugarcane growers.

Matt Kealley, senior manager at membership engagement and innovation at Canegrowers, opined that blockchain technology has the ability to assist farmers to fulfill the rising expectation to illustrate their ecofriendly methodology.

“A blockchain solution, such as KPMG Origins, could provide a platform which will enable end-users to capture the sustainability credentials of the product directly from the grower to customer.”

On a contrasting note, an executive specializing in agriculture related business at PwC has recently stated that blockchain based traceability claimed to be a fool proof mechanism empowering customers is an illusion as physical points of data input can be manipulated.

Notably, all the Big Four consulting firms i.e. Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG have conveyed their willingness to adopt blockchain technology. These top four firms represent over 50% of global audits in 2018. Therefore, the blockchain and crypto related activities of Big Four auditing firms could reflect the worldwide blockchain adoption scenario.

In mid-October, EY started using a blockchain platform to manage public funds. Earlier, PwC collaborated with ConsenSys-aided identity handling protocol uPort to build blockchain powered identity administration system for the UK’s financial industry.