How Vodafone is Pushing Supplier Collaboration

Vodafone is joining forces with fellow telecommunications provider BT to promote supplier collaboration within the industry.

Dubbed, Trust Your Supplier, the initiative will use an innovative blockchain powered platform developed by IBM to establish a more streamlined procurement process among telcos – not just for its own procurement operation but for all participating suppliers and buyers.

The blockchain platform will solidify contacts and payments by creating a secure and immutable database of vendor profiles which can be accessed by all procurement teams participating in the program. This will essentially enable them to share elements of their supplier validation and vetting process and enable a quick onboarding process for new suppliers.

For the time being, Vodafone is simply encouraging its procurement partners to integrate with the new platform but has made its intentions clear that intends to mandate it in the near future for any new partners who wish to join its massive supply chain.

Vodafone worked closely with BT and North Carolina based blockchain consultancy Chainyard on the development of the platform, with BT coming onboard later in the process.

“We’re working in the same industry, playing with the exact same suppliers, dealing with exactly the same people,” said BT’s Chief Procurement Officer, Cyril Pourrat. “So, the value here is that we can create an ecosystem that will enable us to work better, altogether, and to be faster altogether.”