Citizens Reserve Talks Blockchain’s Supply Chain Role

Businesses are coming to the realization that blockchain may not be the end-all technology that can address every problem existing within supply chains today.

While the technology has the potential to address many points of friction in supply chain management — including cross-border payments, visibility into the movement of goods, compliance and document management — it’s only one piece in the complex puzzle of supply chain disruption, says Citizens Reserve CEO Eric Piscini.

The company recently announced the launch of its SUKU Platform, a solution designed to foster innovation and integration of an array of solutions addressing multiple hurdles of supply chain management. The first friction points the platform will target are B2B trade and track-and-trace of goods as they move throughout the supply chain, Piscini told PYMNTS in a recent interview.

While blockchain is at the heart of the solution, it’s not the only technology in play, he noted.

“It’s the core of the platform,” Piscini said. “But we also realize supply chain is not just one technology.”

Disruption and progress will come from many sources, including technologies like the Internet of Things, machine learning and cloud infrastructure, he said.

Another technology the SUKU platform deploys is cryptocurrency with the creation of the SUKU token, which, Piscini explained, can be used by businesses for an array of needs, including to pay transaction fees and access voting power when companies debate which new features they want added on the platform.

Some technologies and innovations that will make significant impacts on the supply chain market may not even be in existence today. According to Piscini, the SUKU platform is designed to foster innovation and allow developers to create their own tools, which companies on the platform will be able to access.

“At some point, innovation is going to take place on our platform, and we won’t even know what it is — which is great,” he noted.