Blockchain Supply Chain Network Makes Its Debut

The blockchain has been considered a possible means to overhaul an array of aspects in B2B payments, including cross-border and smart documentation. One company wants to use the technology for supply chain management, including payments and invoicing, and, late last week, rolled out its solution to do so.

Fluent said Friday (March 11) that it is debuting the Fluent Network, a blockchain-based software platform for cross-border B2B trade aimed at the businesses and financial institutions that play their roles in the supply chain.

The network allows businesses and banks to manage and trade invoices and payments in real time at lower costs, said Fluent CEO Lamar Wilson.

“A network allows the whole to be exponentially greater than the sum of its parts and eliminates the inefficiencies that exist in disconnected systems,” he stated. “There is no space where this is more important than global supply chains, who have dealt with siloed systems for far too long.”

The firm’s COO, Dave Sutter, said in a statement that the company prepared for the rollout by speaking with corporate treasurers, CFOs and accounts payable executives to understand their needs and challenges.

“We then identified specific instances where blockchain technology and a distributed financial network could provide a qualitative advantage over traditional systems for global enterprises,” Sutter added.

The rollout follows a pre-seed funding round of $875,000 that closed for the company late last year. Backers included Draper Associates, Thomson Reuters, 500 Startups, UMB Bank and SixThirty, reports said.

“The Fluent partnership increases our information flow in this rapidly developing area and provides us an outlet to collaborate on proof of concepts and prototypes,” said Scott Manuel, Thomson Reuters’ head of product management and delivery, in a statement. “We will be delivering a couple of early proof concepts to test the effectiveness of blockchain on Thomson Reuters use cases.”