Traceability tools

The efficiency, security and inviolability of the blockchain system support forest certification and the forest-wood supply chain with a view to "ensuring certainty and informing according to truth". The Woodchain project involves, together with PEFC Italy and PEFC France, various Turin and Val di Susa realities: Replant Srl, Foodchain spa, La Foresta, Alta Val Susa forest consortium, F. Roche sas, Silva cooperative company and Kaboom Srl.
The purpose of the study is to test the application of blockchain technology as an innovative IT (information technology) solution for forestry and wood applications. This technology allows you to create and manage a large distributed database for managing transactions shared between multiple nodes on a network. The nodes represent the users or entities participating in the network, which contribute to the constitution of the actual blocks, each containing multiple transactions, connected together in the network, which allow decentralization and participation in the management of information and data.
Specifically, the project's objective is to strengthen trust and traceability along value chains, create an efficient and accessible sustainable forest management certification, and encourage the evolution of certification, data collection and impact measurement processes.

Electronic timber tracking is a single electronic register of Ukrainian timber. Permanent forest users are obliged to electronically tag each log (or in case of firewood each batch) enabling to establish the legality of its harvesting, namely: description of the log, place and time, name of the team that carried out the procurement, transport document. Thus the system digitally represents the supply chain from forest to the buyer at the first processing facility. Electronic timber accounting has been implemented in Ukraine in phases since 2009, and is still running. At first the system was used only by permanent users under the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine (SFRA) and since 2020 it becomes obligatory to all permanent forest users in Ukraine. 

Technology, equipment and software come from Latchbacher (AT) and are adapted to the Ukrainian conditions. For foresters, as key users, the system decreases the time to register, process and report on sales of unprocessed timber. At the same time, it is also freely accessible for the general public on the website. Anyone can track the legality of timber origin knowing the number of the tag, or invoice number, or truck license plate. As of December 2019 electronic timber tracking is carried out by 504 enterprises (incl. 297 enterprises of the SFRA). Ministries and agencies are also connected to the system for control and information exchange purposes. In total, more than 3,700 mobile users are connected.  

 The online portal is an automatic method for identifying illegally cut timber transports from Romania. The users are able to observe alerts from satellites indicating information and once every few days (between 2 and 7 days depending on the satellite) any change in the aerial image associated with the forest vegetation in Romania. The portal also accesses the SUMAL database of the Ministry of Water and Forests in real time. From this database, information is extracted to be processed in the internal system, about the enhancement documents on wood harvests, the locations from where the timber transports are loaded and the information related to these points.The permits on wood harvest became digitalized, therefore all harvesting activity can be checked by satellite monitoring while the transports must obtain a unique code before leaving the place of loading. This code is only obtained after the transport information has been entered into the system, including the location where the code was requested.
The portal, through further developments, also contains an API (set learned of rules), which allows automatic access to all information publicly presented on this portal (layers, transport coordinates and related metadata, enhancement documents, etc.), so that other interested actors can make analyzes that will lead to stopping illegal logging.

Thanks to TimFlow it is possible to check if the exploited wood is legal, if the supplier companies meet the requirements of the company's Due Dilligence system; Whether or not the wood comes from buffer zones of national parks or from other areas where intervention is not allowed. The most important quality of the Timflow system is the unprecedented level of transparency. All GPS data collected is publicly available on the portal also in English, which allows local and international stakeholders to check log shipments. Users can check via Timflow:

• all transports in the country from the last 12 months which have reached the gates of HS Timber Productions’ sawmills in Romania;
• information on transport documents;
• photos of the cargo;
• truck routes;
• in addition, users can request copies of the transport documents.

In addition, users can request copies of the transport documents.With the help of Timflow, HS Timber Group ensures that all shipments are legal, meet the requirements of the Due Diligence system and that the loaded timber does not come from buffer zones of national parks. Timflow is an important part of HS Timber Group's Due Diligence system, which strongly supports the group's efforts to reduce the risk of non-compliant timber in the supply chain. 

The application started in April 2017, the number of registered users grew 60% in the first two months following the update, and the number of transports checked on the platform surpassed the 3,000 mark – a growth of 75%. In 2017 over the first six months in operation, Timflow has recorded real-life data from all the trucks delivering logs to the first company implementing the traceability system. This includes the precise routes of the transports, a reference to the documents of origin and photos of the cargo. For each of the 16,000 transports (as of October 2017) a unique dataset is stored securely on the Timflow servers.

El objetivo del proyecto ChainWood es diseñar y desarrollar una infraestructura de software segura basada en tecnologías blockchain y de Internet de las cosas, ajustada a todas las cadenas de suministro de la madera, que permita a los distintos actores sacar el máximo partido a sus datos y gestionar el producto de una forma más eficiente en términos de coste, trazabilidad y sostenibilidad.
Las principales soluciones a problemas detectados son: Garantía en las transacciones, Información de confianza en tiempo real, Semiautomatización de la operación, Datos de calidad accesibles, Mejora de la competencia.
Recomendaciones: 

• Para los productores
  Información en tiempo real sobre el volumen y el estado del producto.
• Para la industria transformadora
  Acceso a una enorme fuente de datos sobre la materia prima que les permitirá optimizar sus procesos de suministro y agilizar la gestión de sus operaciones.
• Para las empresas de explotación
  Transparencia y garantía en las transacciones, sacando el máximo partido a la tecnología actual.
• Para las autoridades de control
  Reducción de costes en los procesos de auditoría y control, así como un conocimiento más preciso de las cadenas de suministro.
• Para las empresas logísticas 
  Información que les permitirá optimizar su flota y prestar servicios de manera más eficiente.
• Para las administraciones públicas
  Mayor facilidad de acceso a los datos sobre la madera permitiendo una gestión más ágil y eficiente de los procesos que supervisa.

The objective of the ChainWood project is to design and develop a secure software infrastructure based on blockchain and Internet of Things technologies, adjusted to all wood supply chains, allowing the different actors to make the most of their data and manage the product in a more efficient way in terms of cost, traceability and sustainability. The main solutions to problems detected are: transaction assurance, Real-time trusted information, Semi-automation of the operation, Accessible quality data, Improved competition.

Recommendations:

• For producers: Real-time information on the volume and status of the product.
• For the processing industry: Access to a huge source of raw material data that will allow them to optimize their supply processes and streamline the management of their operations.
•  For operating companies: Transparency and assurance in transactions, making the most of today's technology.
• For control authorities: Cost reduction in auditing and control processes, as well as a more precise knowledge of supply chains.
• For logistics companies: Information that will enable them to optimize their fleet and provide services more efficiently.
• For public administrations: Easier access to timber data, allowing a more agile and efficient management of the processes they supervise.