# Certifying timber supply chains with blockchain

> The Chinese enterprise Beihai Marine Industry operates the BCT-Timber platform to digitally record and verify timber imports across the supply chain. By linking individual logs to decentralized custody certificates, buyers and processors can verify origin and compliance data instantly via QR codes. This systematic traceability supports compliance with international trade standards and helps combat the illicit timber trade.

**Sector:** Primary sector · **Industry:** Forestry · **Organisation:** Beihai Marine Industry · **Maturity level:** Production

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/beihai-marine-industry-holzlieferketten-blockchain-lueckenlos-zertifizieren

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Production
- **Evidence:** Evidence medium
- **Editorial review:** pending

## Description

The Chinese organisation Beihai Marine Industry uses the BCT-Timber platform to map the supply chain of imported timber transparently and tamper-proof. Based on a consortium blockchain, relevant customs documents, certificates of origin, and processing stations are directly linked to the physical logs. Buyers and regulatory authorities can easily query and validate this data via QR code. This creates a trustworthy data basis that secures international timber trade and significantly simplifies regulatory inspections.

In international timber trade, seamless tracking from the logging site to the end customer presents a complex logistical challenge, as document forgery and opaque intermediate stations facilitate illegal logging. Beihai Marine Industry addresses this issue by establishing a dedicated consortium blockchain that connects importers, inspection institutions, and trading partners in a joint network. Each imported log is marked with a physical tag and a corresponding QR code, through which inspection certificates and changes of custody are immutably recorded on the blockchain. The decentralized reconciliation prevents subsequent manipulation of customs data and ensures compliance with global sustainability standards such as those of the International Tropical Timber Organization. Companies along the supply chain thus receive a reliable audit trail that minimises liability risks during import and strengthens cooperation with international regulatory authorities.

## Benefits

- Minimisation of liability risks in international timber imports
- Efficient digital proof of regulatory requirements
- Increased trust in the legality and sustainability of wood products
- Tamper-proof traceability from harvest to import
- Enhanced transparency in the fight against illegal logging
- Acceleration of customs clearance and official inspections
- Reduction of manual paper checks through mobile scanning
- Error-free and standardised documentation processes

## Challenges

- Integration effort for smaller suppliers without modern IT infrastructure
- High demands on consistency between physical log marking and digital twin
- Necessary willingness to cooperate among heterogeneous international trading partners
- Required training of personnel in handling scanning devices and consortium interfaces

## Technology foundation

The solution is based on a consortium blockchain architecture that involves trade and customs partners and links physical logs with their certificates of origin in a forgery-proof manner via decentralised signed QR codes.

## Sources

- [The Report on Pilot Operation of Blockchain-based Timber Traceability](https://www.itto-ggsc.org/spotnews/471.html)
- [The Report on Pilot Operation of Blockchain-based Timber Traceability](https://en.glstf.net/download/The%20Report%20on%20Pilot%20Operation%20of%20Blockchain-based%20Timber%20Traceability-20231117.pdf)