Walmart

Basics

• From Forbes Blockchain 50 (Apr 16, 2019):

"The world’s largest retailer (by sales) has filed for at least 50 blockchain patents (for everything from tracking shipments to operating drones) and wants to use the blockchain to quickly pinpoint the culprit in future food-safety scares. In 2016 it partnered with Big Blue to create IBM Food Trust, now being tested by more than 120 companies. To date, Walmart has tracked hundreds of SKUs, including fresh leafy greens, strawberries, yogurt and chicken, with millions of records uploaded to the blockchain. By September 2019, it said it would begin requiring all of its lettuce and spinach suppliers to log their shipments on the blockchain. Full profile"

• From Forbes Blockchain 50 (19-2-2020):

"The retail conglomerate’s Food Traceability Initiative tracks its fresh leafy greens and green bell peppers along its supply chain. The initiative helps Walmart pinpoint where a shipment may have been contaminated, allowing it to target recalls more narrowly and accurately while reducing food waste. Walmart also joined a pilot program last summer supervised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to trace the distribution of prescription medicines and vaccines on a blockchain. IBM, KPMG and Merck collaborated with Walmart in the pilot, which addressed the regulatory requirements of the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act."

• Blockchain platform: Hyperledger Fabric (still as of 19-2-2020)

Current Employees

• Key leader: Tejas Bhatt, senior director, Food Safety Innovations (still as of 19-2-2020 & 2021)

Former Employees

• Bobbly Lee; former Vice President of Technology for Walmart China