Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), a state-run oil and gas company in India, is set to implement a blockchain system for automated verification of purchase orders (POs). This development comes through a collaboration with Zupple Labs, a blockchain software company that specializes in digital authentication technology.
Zupple Labs' verification solution, known as LegitDoc, will be integrated into HPCL's purchase order systems. This move allows HPCL to issue digital POs to its suppliers without the need for manual PO verification. From the perspective of third-party verifiers, the blockchain-based system enables automated validation of POs directly on HPCL's platform.
According to an HPCL spokesperson, this implementation streamlines the process of automatically validating HPCL's POs for external entities. The blockchain technology, once integrated with HPCL's internal e-PO system, generates tamper-proof and identifiable POs, which can be verified by third parties. These verified POs are then accessible to suppliers, who can share them with third-party verifiers via the HPCL Supplier Portal Verification App.
HPCL has been collaborating with Zupple Labs on blockchain initiatives for the past six months. The company has completed the construction of a blockchain PO system, set to be officially launched for suppliers in the near future. HPCL has deployed a blockchain-based PO system on both private and public blockchains, ensuring a versatile approach to this technological enhancement.
Neil Martis, co-founder and business lead at Zupple Labs, explained that the PO verification system leverages "two parallel blockchains" as a settlement layer. This includes the public Near blockchain and the private Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. The inclusion of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain aligns with HPCL's business continuity and disaster recovery strategy. By mid-October 2023, HPCL had already issued 3,000 POs through this new blockchain-enabled facility.
