Artificial intelligence to discover the origin of products

It is an increasingly common process, but still little known in society. Many companies are turning to advanced technological systems to verify the origin of products and certify the entire production process. The artificial intelligence and blockchain They enable tracking of the path that products follow from their origin to sale to the public and thus offer more guarantees to customers, who are increasingly concerned about the sustainability and quality of what they buy.

All in response to globalization and increasing opacity and abuse in global supply chains. In fact, many companies in the United States are now subject to new rules that require proof that no worker was involved in exploitative conditions in the production of their products from nowhere in the world. Especially after the US Congress banned the purchase of products from Xinjiang (Northwestern China) a year ago due to the poor working conditions to which, according to their research, more than 100,000 members of the Uyghur ethnic minority are exposed. The problem is that this region produces 85% of China’s cotton and 20% of what is sold worldwide, so it is very difficult for clothes made in China that are sold in the West to not originate from Xinjiang.

Buyers themselves also require proof that certain items are sustainable and produced according to all ethical guidelines. This happens above all with high class ones, from diamonds or organic cotton, to tuna or shellfish. Companies can no longer rely on multiple factories around the world, but must be able to explain where their products actually come from. They know that this is the price they have to pay if they want access to the American market. And that’s a much more complicated task than it seems because the international supply chains that companies have woven in recent decades to cut costs are very complex. A multinational company today can buy parts from millions of suppliers around the world, especially because of the growth of factories in China since 2000. In turn, each supplier can depend on hundreds of other companies to produce that part.

The companies in charge of these technologies are clear that in the next decade most supply chains will be fully traceable.

One of the multinational companies that started implementing these processes in Spain is IBM, which already has some projects in different parts of the country that are producing good results. The most significant is the one used by the group Port of Celeiro with hake on a spit packed in that fish market in Viveiro. IBM and Laberit created a system based on blockchain which enables the management of the traceability of this fish between the different participants in the supply chain and provides greater transparency to the end consumer. With one click, you can find out the origin of the product, when it was caught and what processes it went through until it reached the restaurant or consumer. Another IBM project is with Deolia, which under its Maestros de Hojiblanca brand launched an initiative to protect the traceability and publicize the journey of its oils, from olive tree to table through the entire value chain.