Tech Mahindra partners StaTwig for Covid-19 vaccine supply chain

IT major Tech Mahindra on Monday said it has partnered with StaTwig, a Singapore and Hyderabad-based digital supply chain solution provider, to implement vaccine traceability platform 'VaccineLedger' globally.

The companies aim to roll-out a blockchain-based traceability solution for global vaccine supply chain transparency, predict and prevent failures in supply chains, including problems related to expired vaccines, stock out and counterfeiting, a statement said.

VaccineLedger is an open source platform and designed to perform end-to-end traceability at 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.

Through this partnership, Tech Mahindra and StaTwig will work towards building a global consortium of vaccine researchers, governments, pharmaceutical companies, distributors, and healthcare workers, the statement said.

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.

Further, Tech Mahindra has also invested in co-development and testing of various enterprise security modules for the mobile and web application, to support the unique requirements from manufacturers and state governments.

"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," Tech Mahindra Blockchain and Cybersecurity Practice Leader - APAC and EMEA Rajesh Dhuddu said.

This will not only ensure safety and validity of vaccine supply but also helps in adherence to complex regulatory requirements, set up by Drug Administration Authority in any country, he added.

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.

"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 stock outs, Sid Chakravarthy, Founder and CEO of StaTwig, said.

StaTwig is a UNICEF Innovation Fund Portfolio startup and the World Economic Forum Global Innovator focused 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.