Please describe your proposed solution
Traceability Matrix and the Need to Overcome Key Limitations
While developing the MVP for the wine supply chain tracking and reporting system, we conducted numerous interviews with various stakeholders, including multiple wineries from Moldova and abroad. This process led to an elaborated traceability matrix that consolidates the required functionalities of a wine supply chain tracking system. Based on this matrix, a few critical limitations were identified that could affect wine quality, despite broader tracking elements. These limitations specifically relate to the location and conditions in which wine is transported and aged. Additionally, they highlight the need for regulatory compliance by triangulating data provided by wineries with state agencies to ensure validity.
Leveraging Cardano Blockchain for Trust and Compliance
In partnership with the Wine Agency of Moldova, the solution will improve winery operations management, streamline reporting to state agencies, and enhance logistics tracking. It introduces blockchain-based warehouse receipts to verify ownership and enable trading or loan collaterals. These features aim to ensure wine quality, regulatory compliance, efficient integration with state registries, and address many of the limitations wineries experience in their activities.
RFID Logistics Tracking
We will implement a solution to track the location of wine bottles and batches using RFID tags and scanners, integrating this functionality into the supply chain tracking platform. Additionally, we will design and prototype a multipurpose container suitable for both long term storage and transportation of wine, which includes its own business potential. This container will utilize Cardano to record live data on key maturation conditions—temperature, light, and humidity—providing ultimate proof of quality for high-end wine clubs and wine buyers. Together, these capabilities will allow comprehensive logistics tracking while ensuring that wine quality is maintained throughout the journey.
Warehouse Receipts
As part of this project, we are looking to implement warehouse receipts linked to the supply chain tracking system. The warehouse receipts will enable wine owners, after depositing their wine in a given storage facility, to receive a tokenized receipt representing proof of ownership over the respective wine. The owners would be able to exchange (burn) the receipt to redeem the wine. Aside from the standard use case, the implementation of these receipts would open the door to more innovative applications, such as trading stored wine on web3 marketplaces or using these receipts as collateral for bank loans. Once the warehouse receipts system is established, expanding its use to include grains and other products will be a natural progression in our business activity.
State compliance
An additional enhancement we plan to implement is a mechanism to ensure the validity of data submitted by wineries by triangulating it with information stored and managed by state agencies within their registries. After multiple rounds of discussions, we identified a strong alignment between our supply chain tracking system and the strategic direction set by the international wine industry’s governing body. Consequently, we have agreed with the Wine Agency of Moldova to sign a letter of intent to formalize our collaboration, aiming to streamline the integration of our system with state agencies. Additionally, we are collaborating with a wine tracking project in Georgia that has addressed similar challenges. We intend to adapt their solution to facilitate regulatory compliance and hope to contribute towards defining or refining broader standards for achieving compliance in various contexts.
State agencies integration
As part of the MVP for the Wine Supply Chain Tracking and Reporting System, we have implemented a reporting system that enables wineries to generate reports for submission to state agencies, which are ultimately stored in state registries. In this context, we have reached an agreement with the Wine Agency of Moldova and the National Agency for Food Safety to enable seamless integration with their registries. This will involve direct integration with the agencies’ ecosystems, along with clear mapping to the data structures they manage.
Signed Letter of Intent
With the letter of intent-link signed between us and the agency formalizing the partnership, and the seamless integration with its registries, we significantly reduce the manual effort associated with reporting for both the agency and wineries, while positioning ourselves with unique value propositions. With the agency's support, we plan to organize a series of informative events to introduce and further detail the capabilities of our platform, making it an obvious solution to wineries’ data management challenges. Our goal is to onboard 50+ wineries from Moldova as part of this process.
Expanding into New Geographies
In parallel with implementing the solutions in Moldova, we plan to start engaging with additional markets, including Romania and Argentina. A key focus of our activity will be on marketing and opening these markets to this technology and Cardano-based products. We believe the insights gained from our work with stakeholders in Moldova will serve as a precedent, helping us accelerate entry into new geographies and avoid certain challenges.
Opportunity for Industry Transformation
The wine market in Moldova is projected to reach $1 billion in 2024, while the global wine market is estimated at $340 billion. This represents a substantial industry still operating largely with traditional methods, missing opportunities to leverage modern blockchain technology. By implementing our blockchain-enabled tracking and reporting solutions, we see a clear opportunity to revolutionize how wine is produced, managed, and marketed—and each component of our solution is set to become an integral part of our ongoing business strategy.
Additionally, because our solution will be open-source, it can serve as a free franchise model for others. While local partners in other countries could use this technology to implement Cardano-based tools in collaboration with their own state agencies, substantial marketing and networking efforts will still be essential to gain traction. This open-source approach allows local stakeholders to profit by partnering with us or independently using the technology, expanding Cardano’s reach without diminishing our role.
Furthermore, with our established connections in Moldova and Romania, we are uniquely positioned to implement these tools and set the critical precedent for the wine industry. This will demonstrate to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine the benefits a reliable blockchain can bring, paving the way for broader, international adoption of Cardano within the industry.