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Transforming the Cocoa Industry: IoT Solution for Ethical Chocolate Production
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
- Procurement
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Supply Chain Visibility
The Challenge
Tony’s Chocolonely, a chocolate company founded in 2005 by Dutch journalist Teun van der Keuken, was established with the aim of transforming the cocoa industry and eradicating child slavery. The founder was appalled to discover the prevalence of child labour in the cocoa industry and decided to create a chocolate brand dedicated to achieving a 100% slave-free chocolate industry. However, the challenge lay in ensuring transparency and traceability in the supply chain. The company chose to work directly with farming cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast, but needed a way to monitor and ensure that the cocoa beans were sourced ethically, without the involvement of child labour. The company also aimed to improve the livelihood of farmers and train them in better agricultural practices.
About The Customer
Tony’s Chocolonely is a Dutch chocolate company founded by Teun van der Keuken in 2005. The company was established with the mission of transforming the cocoa industry and eradicating child slavery. Tony’s Chocolonely works directly with farming cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast, aiming to improve the livelihood of farmers and train them in better agricultural practices. The company is dedicated to achieving a 100% slave-free chocolate industry and uses technology to ensure transparency and traceability in its supply chain.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Tony’s Chocolonely implemented a technology solution called the BeanTracker, built with ChainPoint technology. This platform enables data collection from the farmer cooperatives to production, connecting all supply chain actors. Data is entered on a weekly basis, providing a fully transparent 'bean to bar' supply chain. The platform allows the company to know the origin, flow, and quantities of the beans, or the 'bean whereabouts'. The BeanTracker platform is configured according to Tony’s Chocolonely’s needs and includes functions such as data collection along the cocoa supply chains, reporting and analytics, traceability from farmer cooperative to producer, inventory management with registration of waste and loss, and multitenancy, multi-language, and advanced authorisation.
Operational Impact
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