21 April 2021
BSI, the business improvement and standards company today announces that it has joined a new Innovate UK project as a consortium partner to help digitize the UK’s fresh produce supply chains.
The two-year Trusted Bytes initiative led by Produce Logistics Limited, will see the use of digital technology to facilitate the flow of goods across international borders and increase efficiency for the UK food sector. This will help to create proof of food provenance by digitizing critical border transfer processes while also providing seamless real-time digital connectivity to supply chain operators. It will also enable a trusted data exchange that connects the supply chain with central government and other critical partners enhancing cross border transition, compliance and security.
BSI’s involvement includes the development of an API (Application Programming Interface) for customs clearance that will be compliant with the World Customs Organization’s SAFE Framework of Standards for AEOs (Authorized Economic Operators) and integrated to HM Revenue & Customs, enabling crucial cross-border efficiencies and assurance. The BSI team will take a leading technology development role in the consortium, combining the use of leading supply chain standards (GS/1) and key data interoperability.
Dan Purtell, Group Innovation Director at BSI commented: “We’re delighted to be a part of this initiative which aims to drive productivity within UK and international supply chains. Digital transformation is changing the way organizations operate and we’re confident that, by bringing together our expertise in supply chain security and trade compliance with the latest technology, we can help improve transparency, increase resilience and enhance long-term sustainability.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Trusted Bytes consortium includes the following organizations:
- Fesa UK Ltd
- Worldwide Fruit Ltd
- Davis Worldwide Ltd
- Hain Daniels
- FreshLinc Ltd
- ukFPN Lincolnshire
- Contained Technologies UK Ltd
- Excelerate Technology Ltd
- Blue Ring
- University of Lincoln
- High Value Manufacturing; Catapult’s Manufacturing Technology Centre
- Satellite Applications Catapult
BSI will leverage various open international best practice frameworks around supply chain data management, trust and interoperability within the Trusted Bytes initiative. These include GS1/EPCIS, W3C DIDs and verifiable credentials, ISO 44001 Collaborative Business Relationships, and the open OriginTrail decentralized protocol stack (origintrail.io).
