CRYPTOKID: PlanPort: The Supply Chain Protocol

INTRODUCTION

The procurement and sourcing process has many stages which require concerned parties to use a collaborative approach throughout its lifecycle. PlanPort simplifies this process by unifying the entire procurement process end-to-end with the power of the blockchain technology. Moreover, Planport intends to create a seamless interaction right from on-boarding, monitoring, issuing and expenditure management, payment processes and performance analysis, among others.

The current supply chain industry is a $64 trillion market that employs millions around the world. Planport is building a decentralized business-to-business platform for the supply chain industry and our initial product focuses on procurement and its components. Procurement is one of the core sectors of the supply chain industry. It involves buying of goods and services that enable organizations to carry out their day-to-day operations. Someone involved in procurement may be responsible for sourcing raw materials from suppliers globally and bringing them into an organization by working with C-level executives, finance and engineering as well as external suppliers. While procurement is a vital aspect of operations, the process has critical problems that are costly for all businesses from small companies to big corporations. The obstacles include legacy systems with inefficient and closed networks that are expensive, risky and time-consuming, cash flow problems that take weeks or months, contractual nightmares, poor supplier management and closed and centralized access to goods and services. A company spends 30 to 70% of its revenue on outsourced goods and services, yet many still under invest.

ABOUT PLANPORT

The Planport Platform powered by the PORT token aims to solve these problems by unifying the entire procurement process end-to-end and empowering enterprises and suppliers using a decentralized business-to-business network in the supply chain industry. Buyers and sellers can use the platform for procurement, auctions, payments, and contract management. At the end of the supplier and buyer interaction, Planport invoice marketplace enables suppliers to push invoices to a network of global investors where they can access a diverse range of funders. This marketplace is built on the Blockchain distributed technology allowing participants to have a secure and efficient way to settle trade finance assets in the $3 trillion factoring industry.

Planport is building open source solutions for the supply chain 2.0, initially procurement and sourcing solutions. Procurement is one of the core supply chain management functions and vital part of small to large companies, as they can spend over 75% of their revenue on it, therefore success and opportunities for all companies depend on it. It involves sourcing for suitable suppliers and buying goods and services that these businesses and organisation operate on.

PLANPORT PRODUCTS

Planport, as part of Planport Platform, has built and is building the following products:

Planport RFX - a procurement product for buyers and sellers.
Planport Supplier Manager - a product for enterprises to communicate with and assess suppliers.
Planport Auctions - a product for performing reverse auctions with multiple suppliers. Planport
Payment Systems - a payment system empowered by the PORT token for business-to-business payments.
Planport Contracts - a full contract management product for creation, storage, and discovery of contracts.
Planport Experts Networks - an on-demand network of supply chain experts for enterprises.
Planport Invoice Marketplace - a trade finance network for suppliers.

Planport will revolutionise the supply chain industry by building a platform that streamlines the processes and is built on trust, mutual benefit and user-centric as part of the Web 3.0 by using the Blockchain technology.

THE SUPPLY CHAIN PROTOCOL

PlanPort will implement the following to provide a solution to the issues as mentioned above:

Intuitive And Smart RFx Manager:

PlanPort will focus on user-friendliness and simplicity while designing this procurement platform. The resultant system will be usable to everybody.

Smart Contracts:

Each transaction on the PlanPort platform will be governed by a smart contract. Essentially, the contract will only be executed when a certain set of conditions are met. PlanPort contracts are based on the Ethereum blockchain.

B2B Remittance:

PlanPort will facilitate a direct peer-to-peer connection between suppliers and business. As a result, these two parties will have a consensus on when payments and deliveries will be made. This eliminates the problems regarding reconciliations and the flow of cash.

Rating System:

The PlanPort smart contracts system will automatically award points to users. These points will build a user’s reputation, and a redeemable for a variety of features such as higher discount rates, payment incentives and trading with top-rated suppliers.