Accenture and Digital Ventures launch procure-to-pay blockchain solution in Thailand

Accenture has launched a blockchain solution in Thailand that will simplify the way companies buy and sell goods, make and receive payments, and obtain financing.

The solution, co-developed with Digital Ventures – a fintech subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank, is a fully integrated procure-to-pay solution built on R3’s Corda platform. The platform’s design and implementation were completed in just five months and the companies collaborated with R3 to overcome a series of technical challenges.

According to the press release, the solution was created with Thai conglomerate SCG using design thinking, agile methodology and DevOps principles, along with microservices and cloud technologies. It is already in production use, handling transactions with selected SCG suppliers.

The deployment of the solution at SCG showed that it led to improved efficiency and transparency for all parties across the procurement supply chain process, Accenture said. The solution also helped minimize the potential for human errors and created a seamless integration of purchase orders and invoices between organizations, without the need for reconciliations and adjustments.

“The platform can significantly reduce invoice financing time and prevent fraud, resulting in lower cost of financing and longer credit terms. It also reduces the need for physical billing, which can eliminate millions of physical invoices per year and makes SCG’s network of suppliers ready to be integrated with Thailand’s e-tax invoice program, freeing up time to perform other value-added activities,” the release said.

Divyesh Vithlani, who heads Accenture’s Financial Services practice in the ASEAN region, said that they expect to scale the solution and leverage it for other functions beyond just procurement, including order-to-cash, international money transfer and trade finance.