Theseus

The Theseus solution helps keep supply chains honest and cuts operating expenses across the board. To manage global operations and market expansions, enterprises must now deal with stricter quality and regulatory standards,  dynamic pricing, labour agreements, consumer demands of transparency, contracts, tax documents, freight bills, compliance, and more. implementing Theseus would directly reduce costs for getting their products to market. 

Theseus cuts down on the cost of doing business. There is less paperwork to make its way through, since it is now all digitized and automatically uploaded onto Theseus. This cuts down on the administrative cost of moving goods dramatically. Theseus is able to collate all the data and have it at the fingertips of the problem owner. The Boston Consulting Group believes that the administrative costs of supply chains is currently $590 billion, with a move towards a digital and real time logistic system able to save $270 billion. 

Operationally, the major is the high costs associated with logistics and supply chain management. one of the problems is about consumer trust. Despite the fact that regulatory agencies and food companies are held the most responsible for consumer health and safety, they ranked last its corresponding trust index. 

Part of this is also because of the problem surrounding the diverse and fragmented ecosystem of stakeholders. For example, In February 2019, Polish authorities announced that 2.7 tonnes of beef sourced from sick cows were exported to other EU countries despite going through multiple checkpoints because of an uncommunicative and fragmented supply chain. 

A lack of information sharing can lead to serious health risks across whole continents. Each year, unsafe food causes 600 million cases of food borne diseases and 420,000 deaths. Of these deaths, 30% occur among children under 5 years of age. Fixing agricultural supply chains means saving lives. Furthermore, we are throwing away about 1.3 billion tons of food a year, or 1/3 of all the food that we grow. fixing our supply chains and offering better data is not just good for regulatory bodies or companies, but for the world as well.

Theseus offers end-to-end traceability via a tracking solution with QR tags, RFID, and smart sensors that enable regulators and supply chain stakeholders to achieve complete and near-real time visibility into their product’s entire journey. Theseus utilizes blockchain authentication as a cost-effective way to verify origin and authenticity. It uses digital documents and certification to label food for safety and regulatory compliance, and digital bills of lading to track the entire supply chain.

The process starts with generating unique alpha-numeric identification numbers for items. A QR code tag is printed on a bag or item, or on stickers that can be placed on the object. Data fields are generated for each system user, so they can input relevant information. A user-friendly interface performs batch creation on the blockchain in two minutes or less. All data and QR scanning information is written to a blockchain, where it’s validated and stored for system administrators. Workflow processes get tracked and automated using smart contracts. Finally, digital certificates are issued to certify product origin, ensure quality control, and register exports with proper authorities. Certificates from regulators, backed by blockchain encryption and data security, facilitate regulatory compliance and play a vital role in ensuring food safety

The direct beneficiaries of our solution are the stakeholders who are directly associated with the supply chain of the specific product. These stakeholders will be benefited by the decreased cost in doing business, as well as the ease of operation across disparate groups and regions of operation. The indirect beneficiaries are the general public, who will see faster movement of goods and decreased food waste because of the project. Th The main goals of this project are to facilitate the international movement of agricultural goods, to allow real or near-real time tracking of these goods, and to be able to analyze the data of each shipment after arrival at the end point of the supply chain. By doing this, we will be able to reduce logistics costs, increase health standards for agriculture, and cut down on time spent in the logistics system, but not moving, decreasing the total carbon footprint for global agricultural goods. 

Theseus directly addresses the MIT Solve's challenge to improve supply chain practices. Our solution can track food in near real time, allowing food to be saved before it spoils in transit. By having more food make it to the end consumer, this can decrease global hunger rates. We can also track the financial data at each step of the supply chain process, ensuring that farmers are truly given a fair pay for their crops. Finally, by digitalizing bills of sale, we can increase the speed by which farmers can be paid for their produce, decreasing rural poverty rates. 

What makes Theseus innovative is how it brings together so many emerging technologies for good use

Theseus offers end-to-end traceability on the blockchain with QR tags, RFID, and smart sensors that enables regulators and supply chain stakeholders to achieve complete and near-real time visibility into their product’s journey. Theseus utilizes blockchain authentication as a cost-effective and easy way to verify origin and authenticity. It uses digital documents and certification to help with labeling for safety and regulatory compliance, and digital bills of lading to track the entire supply chain.

The process starts with generating unique alpha-numeric identification numbers for items tracked. A QR code tag is printed on a bag or item, or on a sticker that can be placed on the object. Inspectors and quality assurance personnel scan the QR code with their smartphones, enabling data to get automatically sent to the tracking system. Data fields are generated for each system user, so they can input relevant information. Clients may also opt to add autonomous data loggers for additional data points and transparency. A user-friendly interface performs batch creation on the blockchain in two minutes or less. 

All data and QR scanning information is written to a blockchain, where it’s validated and stored for administrators. This allows information to be searched and used to generate reports. Workflow processes get tracked and automated using smart contracts.

Finally, digital certificates are issued to certify product origin, ensure quality control, and register exports with proper authorities. Certificates from regulators, backed by blockchain encryption and data security, facilitate regulatory compliance and play a vital role in ensuring food safety. 

In terms of evidence that the technology works, we know that it does because we have been at the forefront of testing it in this capacity.Theseus has been piloted in three different cases and is currently being implemented in a fourth. First, Theseus was used to track apples from Mexico to the end consumers in the United States. This pilot proved that sensors and IoT devices could transmit the data onto the blockchain. Then Theseus added in the extra complexity of validating Single Point Origin, when working with indigenous tribes in Guatemala who have grown the same strain of coffee for over 150 years. The third implementation was with La Meseta, a Colombian coffee company who's product eventually made its way to markets in Canada. The La Meseta pilot provided real time geographic, environmental, and financial data to all relevant stakeholders, allowing the goods to be tracked and decreasing food waste. Currently, we are working on implementing Theseus in the Kasese district of Uganda for maize and coffee farmers. by receiving data from over 13,000 farmers across the district, this will be the largest blockchain based logistics tracing project of anyone, to date. 

Our project management methodology follows the approach of a logical framework matrix. On the minor scale, metrics and milestones are tracked. These metrics are labelled as outputs and flow into objectives. Each objective is made in service of a goal, with a goal being complete when the objectives are fulfilled. Completed goals lead to positive outcomes, such as a better operating environment. Future goals can build upon the positive outcomes in order to ensure continued growth. This is a highly scalable process of project management, and is used on both the individual scale and project wide scale.  

The project management system can also be rationally mapped backwards. The final outcome of a successfully implemented project is predicated on the completion of goals, which are further  predicated on the implementation and fulfillment of objectives, which can only be fulfilled by metrics or outputs.  This methodological system ensures two main needs. First, it ensures that the project stays on course and has a strategy for near and long term implementation. Secondly, it ensures that the project implementation is always in line with the end result that the client needs. By fulfilling these parameters, Emerge projects are able to have a positive change for their clients and the operating environment as a whole. 

Since our goals operate as the nucleus of the project methodology, it is vital that they are done with strict thinking surrounding them. This is the reason that the creation of our project goals follows a modular approach. Each goal is created with the stakeholders and problem owners benefit in mind, ensuring that each minor goal and objective that is achieved not just builds towards the overall goal of the project, but ensures that positive change occurs at each step of the process. This gives us multiple benefits, including allowing us to track change throughout the project. Fulfilling goals creates better outcomes for stakeholders and creates stronger goals in the future. Furthermore, it also mitigates risk since even in partial implementation, there is still a worthwhile investment and a positive change that is of direct benefit to the problem owner. 

Currently, Theseus is serving 13,949 farmers in the Kasese District of Uganda. The goal is for Theseus to increase these farmers access to markets and raise the price they can demand for their crops. when included with our Theseus project in Colombia, we have served over 15,000 farmers directly impacted by Theseus. This does not even include those involved in the intermediary steps in the supply chain, nor the end consumer. Over the next five years, we plan to expand Theseus to reach new types of farmers in new locations as well, with a goal of having Theseus service 50,000 farmers by 2025. 

Our goals for the next year is to improve the quality of theseus and prove its scalability. we have proved that the concept can work and can have complexity added to the initial mandate of tracking goods. We have done this by adding environmental and financial data to the blockchain in addition to geospatial data. The plan now is to be able to scale Theseus and increase its use cases so that it is a viable option for more types of agricultural producers. We may also in five years time want to expand Theseus to track the supply of things other than agricultural goods, such as pharmaceutical goods or other livestock. Finally, we would like to have Theseus be implemented not just by enterprises but by a whole marketplace as well. The core idea behind Theseus could be applied to a digital marketplace where suppliers and vendors can reach out and track goods equitably through a central space. 

One of the largest risks is surrounding connectivity and the use of IoT devices to ensure data is transferred. IoT devices are the least mature technology used by the entire solution, and thus stand as the weakest link in the chain. Furthermore, they play a vital role in gathering the environmental and geospatial data needed for the project to reach its goals. The devices also run the risk of delicateness, and may be accidentally lost or destroyed during transit. This could lead to incomplete data surrounding the product being brought to market.  The risk is therefore that IoT devices can give faulty data because of technical error, which would seriously limit the ability of the Theseus project to be able to reach any of the outputs, objectives, goals, or outcomes that we plan on. 

The other risk facing successful project implementation is a lack of proper stakeholder engagement at every step of the supply chain. Ideal implementation means that every actor in the supply has a digital certification to enable a seamless transfer of the goods from one vendor to the next. In order for this to happen, we need to fully understand the entire supply chain ecosystem. Without this, we risk losing track of the goods and missing vital data. Furthermore, there is a risk of non-certified actors handling the goods, which brings into question the fidelity of the data. 

In order to mitigate the risk, Emerge has been directly sourcing best-in-class IoT devices. The goal is to have near or near-real time connectivity with accurate environmental and geospatial data being able to constantly update Theseus. We want Theseus to be the best, and in order to do that we need to ensure it has the best technical hardware behind it. With that in mind, Emerge is currently developing strategic partnerships with global IoT manufacturers to work with them on co-designing new and improved sensors, informed by information we gleaned from implementing Theseus pilots. We would also be looking to partner with IoT device makers in order to ensure that the devices can be made to the specifications necessary for Theseus. this is somewhere the MIT Solve community could come into play. 

We will mitigate other risks by dedicating a maximum effort to the initial stage of ecosystem mapping. That way, we will ensure that we are able to understand workflow, chain of command, and existing legacy systems. This will require maximum input from both the stakeholders, especially the initial vendor. However in previous pilots we have found this to be a successful way to mitigate the risk of uncertified stakeholders on the supply chain. 

We currently have 2 full time staff and one part time staff, as well as one contractor who's mandate is implementation using EU funds. 

Currently we partner with Penta Solutions, a private company that provides the technical team for all of our blockchain based solutions. We have a close working relationship with them, with our CEO, Lucia Gallaro, sitting on their board as the Director of Social Impact. Our partnership operates in a socio-technological framework.  Penta provides the technical work to customize the front and back ends of any Civitas project, with Emerge providing the operational implementation and how to best reach the end user.  

At Emerge, we work in two ways:

1. On-demand and client-focused: When a public- or private-sector organization approaches us with a problem, we commit to solving that problem as impactfully as possible. Instead of approaching challenges with preconceived notions and one-size-fits-all solutions, we strive to understand how existing ecosystems work. This enables us to respect and improve our clients’ processes, instead of tearing them down. If our solution is approved, we develop it, pilot it, improve it, and scale it.

2. In-house and passion-driven: When someone from our team is motivated by a pressing global issue, we brainstorm and road-test ideas to address it. We will then research, design, develop, and pilot our solution, refining it until it becomes best-in-class. We then commercialize it, scale it, and bring it to as many affected populations as possible.

Ultimately, Emerge is looking to scale deep and influence technological systems change at a policy level and behavioural level to shift certain paradigms that society holds true for equitability, inclusion, and sustainability.

As previously stated, we are looking for partners to help ensure that Theseus uses best in class products for everything that they do. Part of what makes Solve so enticing for us is that it includes a community of brilliant innovators who we would hope to partner with in any way that makes Theseus a better solution. While that could be technical or hardware based, it would also be invaluable to have the advice and mentoring of the community on deployment and implementation strategies. We have proved Theseus can work, now the goal is to reach as many people as possible and reduce waste in our food supply chains. Any help with the creating inclusive and competitive pricing models in order to optimize the reach of our solution would also be greatly appreciated. 

That is also what the money that is part of being an MIT Solve solution would be going towards. Funding would go towards resources that make sure Theseus uses the best materials and personnel in our deployments. Funding would also be used to offset costs of running Theseus for farmers who may be inconsistent income earners. Small scale farming supplies much of the global food chain, and decreasing waste in the supply chain for them is paramount to decreasing global hunger. However, when they can not afford to implement Theseus, that's when Solve's funding can play a role in offsetting the costs and decreasing food and economic waste for everyone, not just those who can afford it.