German logistics giant DHL and business consultancy Accenture have together released a report on the potential of blockchain to transform the logistics industry.

The DHL report includes findings on a working prototype that has been developed by the two firms that tracks pharmaceuticals from the point of origin to the consumer, in theory preventing tampering and errors in the supply chain.

“The experiments with blockchain in finance are well known, but we believe logistics is an area where the new technology will have a truly profound impact,” said Matthias Heutger, senior vice president DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation. “Implementing productive solutions however, will require further technological development and, critically, collaboration between all stakeholders.”

Andreas Baier, Accenture lead for the travel and transport industry and DHL client team leader: “We’ve worked closely with DHL to understand and document the broad impact blockchain will have on supply chains of the future “Using a common, indelible and secure ledger, the industry can achieve much higher safety standards – from the factory to the patient – at much lower cost. This is one of several opportunities blockchain affords to restructure business processes while reducing cost and complexity.”