Tech Mahindra Ltd., a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, has partnered with StaTwig, a Singapore and Hyderabad-based digital supply chain solution provider, to implement ‘VaccineLedger’ globally. The partnership aims to roll out blockchain-based traceability solutions for global vaccine supply chain transparency, to predict and prevent failures in supply chains, including problems related to expired vaccines, stockout and counterfeiting.

Through this partnership, Tech Mahindra and StaTwig will work towards building a global consortium of vaccine researchers, governments, pharmaceutical companies, distributors, and healthcare workers. StaTwig will leverage Tech Mahindra’s go-to-market expertise, including access to sales and customer network, domain experience, balance sheet support, resource scale and system integration knowledge. Tech Mahindra has also invested in the co-development and testing of various enterprise security modules for mobile and web application to support the unique requirements from manufacturers and state governments.

StaTwig is a UNICEF Innovation Fund Portfolio startup, and the World Economic Forum Global Innovator. It focuses on solving supply chain failures in multiple critical industries such as vaccines and food with easy-to-use apps that leverage its highly scalable and secure blockchain-based supply chain management platform.

Rajesh Dhuddu, Blockchain and Cybersecurity Practice Leader - APAC and EMEA, Tech Mahindra, said, “Wastage of life saving drugs such as vaccines should be addressed on priority, and we need to come together in order to effectively find a solution here. Our strategic partnership with StaTwig will enable supply chain participants with a single application to enhance traceability and chain of custody. This will not only ensure safety and validity of vaccine supply but also helps in adherence to complex regulatory requirements, set up by the Drug Administration Authority in any country.”

Traditional supply chain system boundaries are limited to the boundaries of enterprise IT infrastructure, resulting in data silos in the ecosystem. A blockchain-based application builds peer to peer bridges on current systems that support real-time data sharing, authentication and validation. Vaccine manufacturers can use such data beyond track and trace to inventory management, vendor payments, IOT integration and smart contract. VaccineLedger is an open source platform designed to perform end-to-end traceability at the vial level for vaccines in the global supply chain.  It prevents the need of replacing the existing system, therefore, removing the barriers of adoption. It can easily integrate with existing systems and show immediate results in the countries where it is deployed.

Sid Chakravarthy, Founder and CEO, StaTwig, said, “With VaccineLedger, we are aiming to re-design and re-engineer the traditional supply chain information systems to give continuous visibility and complete traceability. With the help of VaccineLedger, vaccine manufacturers and governments can work together to prevent counterfeiting, cold-chain failures and stockouts.”

Blockchain continues to grow as a major pillar in Tech Mahindra’s digital transformation portfolio and is increasingly becoming a part of the company’s wide range of business verticals. As part of NXT.NOW framework, which aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’, Tech Mahindra focuses on investing in emerging technologies and solutions that enable digital transformation and meet the evolving needs of the customer. Tech Mahindra provides a holistic framework called ‘Block Ecosystem’ comprised of various levers: Block Studio, Block Engage, Block Talk, Block Geeks, Block Accelerate, Block Access and Block Value, which can be used to create industry- leading applications that unlock significant value for clients.