Japan's leading IT services provider NTT DATA has partnered with blockchain firm Skuchain to empower enterprise supply chains with blockchain.

Under the partnership, the companies will finish building an integrated blockchain IOT platform which will combine Skuchain's blockchain-based EC3 platform with NTT DATA's iQuattro platform for systems integration. The objective is to develop an enterprise-grade solution that will capture the value hidden in their large supplier base with secure logistics management, cash flow relief and collaborative inventory planning.

The solution will leverage blockchain technology to manage and optimize all aspects of the supply chain. This includes:

• Skuchain's Popcodes app for tracking and tracing goods that provides greater visibility and, more importantly, greater control over the supply chain.
• Skuchain's Brackets smart contracts app enables the continuous flow of transactions and data and, ultimately, fine-grained automation with precise control.

“These foundational technologies enable companies to turn their inventory from an illiquid asset and balance sheet burden into a blockchain asset that generates cash flow relief and reduced COGS,” the release said. “Underpinning all of this is Skuchain's Zero Knowledge Collaboration technology, which solves the information gap in the supply chain without sacrificing privacy so that companies can plan with unprecedented precision and turn firewalled information into capital.”

NTT DATA and Skuchain will jointly market this platform to enterprises in Japan and other markets and deployed across their global supply chains.

The companies have already completed a pilot with a large Japanese company and their supply chain in China using Skuchain's Popcodes track and trace system, marking the first step in the partnership. According to the official release, additional pilots are underway with other Japanese conglomerates, including for smart contract governance and inventory financing.