# Digital Traceability of Timber Supply Chains

> The Forst-Holz-BlockChain project at the University of Freiburg digitizes the process chain from timber harvesting to mill delivery using blockchain technology. It records data seamlessly, immutably, and in a decentralized manner to ensure transparency and traceability across the forestry-timber supply chain. A minimum viable product demonstrates the practical functionality of the approach.

**Sector:** Primary sector · **Industry:** Forestry · **Organisation:** Forst-Holz-BlockChain (Uni Freiburg) · **Maturity level:** Pilot

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/forst-holz-blockchain-holzlieferketten-digital-nachverfolgen

## Documentation status

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

## Description

Blockchain technology enables the seamless and immutable recording of all relevant data along the timber supply chain – from harvesting in the forest to delivery at the sawmill or another processing facility. Every step, such as felling, skidding, storing, and transporting timber, is digitally logged and made comprehensible to all authorised participants. The research project at the University of Freiburg develops and tests this approach in practice and is funded with EU funds from the EFRE-HIP programme.

The timber supply chain is traditionally characterised by many independent actors who often manage data on different, unconnected systems, leading to a lack of transparency, disputes over quantities and qualities, and a complex certification process. The Forst-Holz-BlockChain project at Albert Ludwig University Freiburg addresses these issues by building a decentralized blockchain infrastructure that digitally and tamper-proof records all process steps from felling to factory delivery. A predecessor project within HoBeOpt (2019–2022) already demonstrated a pilot scenario where blockchain was used to identify deviations in timber quantities, solving a concrete practical problem. The current follow-up project, funded by EFRE-HIP from 2023 to 2025, aims to further validate and refine the functionality through a prototype. In the long term, the solution is intended to help build trust between forestry operations, traders, and factories, simplify certification processes, and standardise digital data exchange in the industry.

## Benefits

- Reduction of transaction and verification costs through automated and immutable documentation of delivery quantities and qualities.
- Improved basis for digital contract processing and automated billing processes between forestry operations, traders, and factories.
- Facilitation of certification audits through data history that is accessible and comprehensible at any time.
- Seamless, tamper-proof documentation of all process steps from harvesting to processing builds trust among all participants.
- Transparent calculation bases for timber quantities and qualities reduce conflicts and disputes along the supply chain.
- Simplified and credible proof for origin and sustainability certifications such as FSC or PEFC.
- Decentralised data exchange without a central control authority strengthens acceptance among all independent actors.
- Reduction of manual documentation efforts in the field and administration through digital data capture.
- Clearer process responsibilities through clearly assigned and immutable data points.

## Challenges

- The willingness of all supply chain actors to participate jointly in a decentralised system and share data is a prerequisite for the solution’s benefits but is difficult to achieve.
- Unresolved questions about data ownership, access rights, and data protection can delay implementation.
- Acceptance of the technology among traditionally oriented forestry actors is a central challenge due to trust and competence gaps.
- Digital data capture directly in the forest requires robust hardware, reliable connectivity, and user-friendly systems that function under harsh conditions.
- Integrating the blockchain solution into existing industry software and ERP systems requires significant technical effort and standardisation efforts.
- Forestry workers and drivers need training to handle new digital recording devices, which involves initial effort.
- Technical failures or lack of connectivity in the forest can impair reliable data capture.

## Technology foundation

The use case relies on blockchain technology to store data along the wood supply chain in an immutable and decentralised manner. This technology is particularly well suited for this use case because multiple independent actors – forestry operations, timber traders, transporters, and mills – need to access a trustworthy data basis together without having to trust a central controlling authority. The decentralised logging prevents subsequent manipulation and thus creates a reliable foundation for certifications, quantity calculations, and quality proofs.

## Sources

- [Forst-Holz-BlockChain – Projektseite der Universität Freiburg](https://www.foresteng.uni-freiburg.de/forschung/Blockchain)
- [Projektuebersicht Digitalisierung Forst und Holz – Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR)](https://digitalisierung.fnr.de/projekte/projektuebersicht-digitalisierung-forst-und-holz)
- [Forschung – Professur für Forstliche Arbeitswissenschaft und Verfahrenstechnologie, Universität Freiburg](https://www.foresteng.uni-freiburg.de/forschung)