The federal government announced on January 24 that it will invest $300,000 to help two software companies develop a solution for tracing products throughout the steel supply chain.

Peer Ledger of Halifax and Mavennet Systems from Toronto will each receive an investment of up to $150,000 through Innovative Solutions Canada, a program that invites Canadian small businesses to develop innovative solutions to address government challenges.

The companies’ aim: develop a proof of concept for a digital tracing system enabled by blockchain and artificial intelligence for the Canadian steel supply chain. Such a tool would capture activities across the steel supply chain to provide government and industry with better information on supply and demand, origin, and the quality of inputs and outputs.

If selected to continue to the program’s next stage, one of the two companies could receive up to $1 million over two years to refine its prototype.

“With this challenge, we’re looking for a tool to better trace the steel supply chain and provide information on product supply and demand, instant verification of origin, and quality of inputs and outputs,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “By turning to Canadian innovators for their best ideas, we’re accessing quality products to solve some of our most pressing challenges while helping businesses grow and create good jobs.”

The steel industry’s problem is that products and inputs are not comprehensively or securely traced with anything resembling modern systems.

Current verification methods and trade facilitation processes use antiquated information technology systems, where a product’s origin is validated through documentation such as a steel mill certificate. Government and industry see value in creating a digital system that draws on technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to instantly integrate industry data with required documentation. Not only could such an approach improve accountability and transparency through the supply chain, but it could also reduce costs and delays. 

The challenge for Peer Ledger and Mavennet Systems is to develop a digital tool that would trace inputs and outputs in real time in the steel supply chain—upstream and down—using blockchain technology, and apply artificial intelligence enabled data analytics on this information to better capture activities across the steel supply chain.

For industry, downstream firms in particular, the technology would offer product supply and demand predictions, instant verification of origin and quality of inputs and products (allowing for confirmation of responsible sourcing), reduced costs, increased efficiency and productivity, and predictive insights about inputs, use and demand metrics. It could also be used by government to ease and digitize customs clearance procedures.