# Transparent Supply Chain Tracking in the Automotive Industry

> Ford, together with IBM and RCS Global, implemented a blockchain platform that traces cobalt from certified mine sites to battery manufacturing. Supplier declarations and an immutable audit trail are used to verify the origin of raw materials and reduce ESG risks. The project addresses key ethical sourcing risks such as child labor and conflict financing in the cobalt supply chain.

**Sector:** Secondary sector · **Industry:** Automotive industry · **Organisation:** Ford mit IBM und RCS Global · **Maturity level:** Pilot

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/ford-lieferketten-transparent-verfolgen-automobilindustrie

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Pilot
- **Evidence:** Evidence high
- **Editorial review:** Ufuk Avci, 12 July 2026

## Description

Ford, IBM, and RCS Global have jointly launched a pilot project that tracks cobalt – a key raw material for electric vehicle batteries – along the entire supply chain using blockchain technology. The technology ensures that every handover of the raw material, from the cobalt mine through the smelting process and cathode production to the vehicle manufacturer, is immutably recorded digitally. This allows companies, for the first time, to provide seamless proof that the cobalt they use comes from ethically responsible sources free from child labour and conflict financing.

The pilot project by Ford, IBM, and RCS Global addresses a structural problem in the global battery supply chain: cobalt, an indispensable raw material for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, is largely mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where reports of child labour and human rights abuses burden the industry. The technology used is based on the IBM Blockchain Platform, which builds on Hyperledger Fabric from the Linux Foundation and, as a permissioned blockchain, enables secure, controlled participation of selected supply chain partners. Specifically, batches of cobalt from the partner Huayou Cobalt’s mine were packaged in security bags, digitally recorded, and tracked step-by-step through the smelting process and LG Chem’s production facilities in South Korea to the Ford plant in the USA. Each step along this chain is stored as an immutable entry in the blockchain, creating a tamper-proof audit trail accessible to all authorised participants. The partners planned during the pilot to expand the platform after successful completion to include further minerals and additional network members, which later led to the creation of the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), joined by Volkswagen and Volvo Cars among others.

## Benefits

- Meeting growing legal due diligence requirements in the supply chain through automated documentation
- Strengthening negotiating position with suppliers through transparent, data-based evaluation
- Access to an expandable network of ethically certified supply chain partners
- Seamless, tamper-proof traceability of cobalt from the mine site to the end product
- Proof of ethical sourcing to regulators, investors, and the public
- Reduction of reputational risks by excluding uncertified supply sources
- Foundation for expansion to other critical raw materials and new network participants
- Significant reduction of manual audit and documentation tasks through automated blockchain logging
- Higher operational safety through a reliable data basis for compliance decisions

## Challenges

- High implementation complexity due to the need to integrate multiple international partners with different IT systems
- Dependence on the commitment and technical readiness of all supply chain partners for the platform’s success
- Integrating all supply chain partners, especially small-scale miners, into a digital system is technically and logistically challenging
- The solution requires the trust and active participation of all parties along the entire supply chain
- Complete transparency can only be achieved if no supply chain segments remain outside the system
- Employees need new digital skills in handling blockchain platforms and data-based audit processes

## Technology foundation

The solution is based on the IBM Blockchain Platform, which is built on Hyperledger Fabric from the Linux Foundation. Hyperledger Fabric is particularly well suited for this use case because, as a permissioned blockchain, it allows controlled participation of defined supply chain partners without making sensitive business data publicly accessible. The immutable recording of every handover along the supply chain creates a tamper-proof audit trail that documents the origin of raw materials such as cobalt comprehensively.

## Sources

- [Ford, IBM and RCS Global among companies launching blockchain pilot for mineral supply chain](https://blockchaintechnology-news.com/news/ford-ibm-and-rcs-global-among-companies-launching-blockchain-pilot-for-mineral-supply-chain/)
- [Ford, IBM team up to track minerals with blockchain](https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/Ford-IBM-team-up-track-minerals-blockchain/546301/)
- [Ford, IBM to create blockchain program for cobalt](https://me.smenet.org/ford-ibm-to-create-blockchain-program-for-cobalt/)
- [Ford, IBM and others pilot blockchain supply chain for cobalt](https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2019/01/18/ford-ibm-and-others-pilots-blockchain-supply-chain-for-cobalt/)
- [Ford to use blockchain in pilot to trace cobalt mined in Congo](https://transparencylab.org/Documentation/Additional%20resources/Media/Ford%20to%20use%20blockchain%20in%20pilot%20to%20trace%20cobalt%20mined%20in%20Congo_Financial%20Times_2019.pdf)
- [Blockchain and sustainability through responsible sourcing](https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/blockchain-and-sustainability-through-responsible-sourcing)
- [Volvo Cars joins Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network launched by IBM, Ford and Volkswagen Group](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/volvo-cars-joins-responsible-sourcing-blockchain-network-launched-by-ibm-ford-and-volkswagen-group-advancing-ethical-sourcing-of-minerals-continues-to-scale-with-this-network-300952585.html)
- [RCS Global leverages IBM Blockchain to change the game for responsible sourcing](https://mediacenter.ibm.com/media/RCS+Global+leverages+IBM+Blockchain+to+change+the+game+for+responsible+sourcing/1_vww8zpte)