Emmanuel Delerm, Global Head of Blockchain, Merchandising and B2B Supply Chain Platforms, Carrefour

Emmanuel Delerm is a graduate of the IEP in Strasbourg. During his career, he has held several positions in different companies such as SAP, A.T Kearney, Headstrong and The Projecters.

Can you explain blockchain briefly for anyone who might be unsure what exactly we mean when we are discussing it?
Blockchain originally was designed for cryptocurrency and is very well known for the bitcoin system. Blockchain is in fact a representation of a ledger, which was used for accounting, civil services, and much more for many years. The ledger is a place to input data, but you cannot alter or modify the data once it has been entered. Because of this, what we call immutability of the blockchain, and the ability to distribute the ledger, you can share a unique ledger from one century ago and it will still be unique, which is quite incredible. We are using these blockchain properties, immutability and distribution to collect data on the traceability of the product we are selling, and sharing it with our customers. We aim to collect data on the transformation of products we sell, for example, the transformation from harvest to when the final consumer purchases the product.

When and why did Carrefour choose to become involved in blockchain and what benefits can it provide?
Late 2016 and the beginning of 2017 is when we began to move with this idea. We had held talks with Walmart because at the time, Walmart was considering using blockchain to ensure the origin of their products that had experienced recalls, especially in the US. With these ideas, we exchanged possible applications of blockchain for the collective traceability of food products. By February 2017, we announced publicly that Carrefour would be the first retailer to apply blockchain for animal origin products.
One topic I have seen associated with blockchain is “traceability”. Can you describe the importance of traceability in the food industry and how blockchain can be beneficial for this?

It is certainly two-fold. One part being the regulation perspective and the second part being the psychological perspective of the consumer. For the regulation perspective, I will discuss it in a European setting. In Europe, you have an incumbent and legal responsibility towards your customers when you are selling fresh foods and other types of foods for consumption. If there is any problem that occurs in relation to the food, you should be able to warn your customer of the potential issue, as retailers and producers have a relationship with their customers. Therefore, regulators have to ensure there is a certain level of traceability and transparency with the product that is being sold. And as there is more and more transformation in the foods we consume from harvest to table, you should be aware of the different steps of production and transformation to accurately handle any problems that might arise.

The other aspect is the psychology of the consumer. When you buy some products, it is possible to have some bias towards the origin, for example preferring products that are sourced locally from your region. This bias has been highlighted even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic, as we saw in France people having to buy unfamiliar foreign brands and there was certainly some level of discomfort in not finding the brand they were used to. We believe more and more that in coming years, consumers will value and care about the origin of their products. This bias can even be seen when quality is tied to origin in food products. All of this will lead to strong demand for traceability.

You wrote an article called “Gaining Customers’ Hearts with Blockchain”. Can you elaborate on that article and why you wrote it?
I must say that I am not specifically a blockchain fan, but rather I want to use the technology for what it may offer, which is immutability and collectiveness. I remember nearly four years ago, being with farmers in the central part of France to explain how blockchain worked, and I think that we have this vision of farmers that is not entirely correct. I saw that the vast majority of farmers were much more aware of technology than what we think. The starting point and an important point for them was the immutability, the guarantee that once you enter data, by design of the blockchain, absolutely no one can change or modify it. It becomes the role of the farmer, or whoever is inputting the data, to enter the data correctly. The second aspect was the property of the data. It is still the farmer's data and this feature of collectiveness means that everybody is making their best effort to enter the data correctly and provide the consumer with accurate information. This responsibility incentivizes the individuals to give their best effort. Each person along the entire supply chain is responsible for the data the falls under their umbrella. In this sense, it is not blockchain that will win the consumers’ hearts, it is not Carrefour that will win their hearts, it is the collectiveness, the team of stakeholders, that through the transparency will build trust in their relationship with the customers. When you trust a retailer, or trust a supplier, you are more inclined to make frequent purchases.
 
So, this is not just Carrefour, this is the farmers, everyone involved in the supply chain, correct?
Yes, in fact, everyone is important. To give you an example, the first product we blockchained was a chicken from France. Many times, when you want to sell something under an “organic” label there has to be no or very little anti-biotics injected into the product and as we sat around a lunch table discussing this, it was the veterinarian who promised and took up the responsibility to certify that the product was organic. This did not come from Carrefour. It was the responsibility of the veterinarian. This example shows how it is most certainly a team playing or collective effort and because of this, it is sustainable. We are building a community around a product and the people are proud to be a part of this entire process.
 
Due to the immutability of the blockchain, what happens if someone incorrectly inputs data? What is the process for catching that and resolving it?
It is a good and valid point. Of course, it is normal to have a problem, or to enter data incorrectly on accident, but while you cannot modify the input, you can open a new data point acknowledging the mistake and rekey the data correctly. After one year of blockchaining the chicken, I asked the team to evaluate the number of corrections entered, and it turns out, there were very few errors to begin with. People were responsible and they knew the immutable system and they understood the importance of entering data correctly. Moreover, we are attempting to put some quality checks on the data. For example, each time you enter data, we could identify inconsistent data and raise a flag to go back to verify that it is correct.
 
Is Carrefour currently using blockchain processes for nuts and dried fruits? Are there any applications of blockchain specifically that can be helpful to the nut and dried fruit industry?
Not as we speak, and we have not been asked by food producers yet. I had some very preliminary talks with some importers of nuts and dried fruits in France, but from a consumer perspective, it can be interesting and important to know where your edible nuts and dried fruits are coming from.
 
One interesting fact is that a lot of your products are harvested once a year and as they undergo transformation from the field to the consumer, it most certainly could be useful to track the transformation process. Any time you are getting a transformed product the preoccupation of the consumer is raising and it is certainly a way to reduce anxiety from a consumer’s perspective and value a certain region or process.
 
It is also important that you explain to the consumer in a relatable way and not too technical. As I have said frequently, we are shifting from a world of abundance to a world of quality.