Portera helps Danone to Gartner Award for Patient or Customer Innovation, 2024

Portera, a leader in digital transformation and AI-driven solutions, is proud to announce its pivotal role in helping Danone secure the prestigious 2024 Gartner Supply Chain Award for Customer Innovation. This accolade recognizes Danone’s groundbreaking work in leveraging cutting-edge technology, including blockchain, serialization, and aggregation, to enhance supply chain transparency and improve customer experiences—a success made possible through Portera’s expertise and innovative solutions. 

A Partnership of Innovation 

For over a decade, Portera has been a trusted partner to global brands, driving AI and data-centric transformations that support sustainability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. This award win is a testament to Portera’s enduring commitment to helping companies evolve in an increasingly digitized world.  

In its collaboration with Danone, Portera played a key role in creating a Digital Product Passport (DPP) [Link to DPP article] solution that tracks and traces baby formula products across the supply chain. This innovative approach not only ensures product authenticity and safety but also aligns with the growing consumer demand for transparency regarding product origins and sustainability. Portera’s technology integrated AI, blockchain, and serialization technologies to give Danone’s customers unprecedented visibility into their products. 

Transforming Danone’s Supply Chain with Track & Trace Technology 

Danone, a global leader in dairy, plant-based, and specialized nutrition products, sought to improve the transparency, traceability, and security of its baby formula products, where safety is paramount. Portera’s expertise in implementing track-and-trace technology allowed Danone to leverage real-time data and blockchain integration to monitor the journey of each product from production to the consumer. 

Portera designed a holistic digital solution that enhanced Danone’s supply chain by ensuring: 

– Real-time traceability: Every product is tracked through each stage of the supply chain, from raw material sourcing to final distribution, using blockchain for an immutable record of the product journey. 

– Serialization and aggregation: Individual products are given a unique digital identity, allowing for detailed tracking down to each unit. 

– Enhanced consumer trust: Customers can access comprehensive product information through digital passports, verifying product origins, certifications, and sustainability attributes with ease. 

The success of this solution is particularly evident in Danone’s baby formula product line, where safety, compliance, and customer satisfaction are critical. By ensuring full transparency in product sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution, the track-and-trace system also strengthens Danone’s commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility. 

Winning the Gartner 2024 Supply Chain Award 

The 2024 Gartner Supply Chain Award for Customer Innovation highlights Danone’s exceptional achievements in leveraging next-generation technology to meet the evolving needs of modern consumers. By implementing Portera’s cutting-edge solutions, Danone enhanced its customer experience, providing transparency and assurance in a sector where trust is essential. 

The Gartner award underscores the value of Danone’s innovative approach to digital product transparency. By utilizing blockchain and AI technologies, Danone delivered a superior customer experience, allowing parents to verify the origin, quality, and safety of their baby formula products. The partnership between Danone and Portera stands as a benchmark for other companies seeking to innovate their supply chains through digital transformation. 

Portera’s Proven Expertise in AI and Supply Chain Transformation 

Portera’s track record in helping global businesses navigate complex supply chain challenges has been instrumental in Danone’s success. With experience spanning multiple industries, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, Portera has led AI and data transformations that bring end-to-end digital product journeys to market. 

Portera’s solution for Danone leveraged its experience in building AI-powered digital ecosystems, which enable companies to gather and analyze data at every step of the supply chain. This not only improves operational efficiency but also empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions that enhance customer experiences. 

In 2024, Portera further solidified its reputation as an industry leader when Danone won the Gartner Award for its innovative use of blockchain, serialization, and AI technologies. The project reflects Portera’s deep expertise in transforming supply chains into fully transparent, data-driven systems that benefit both companies and their customers. 

Driving Future Innovation 

As supply chains become increasingly complex, Portera continues to push the boundaries of digital transformation, enabling businesses to adopt emerging technologies like AI and blockchain to meet the demands of tomorrow’s market.  

Portera’s successful partnership with Danone showcases its ability to provide scalable, sustainable solutions that not only meet regulatory standards but also create value for consumers by providing product transparency and safety. With this latest recognition from Gartner, Portera is set to lead the next generation of supply chain innovation, driving customer-centric, sustainable solutions across industries. 

Portera’s role, in the words of Danone 

Sumathi Manjunath, VP. Operations Digital Transformation summed up Portera’s contribution as follows:  

Portera is a key partner of Danone, supporting us on our traceability & transparency journey. Danone’s vision is to connect with consumers by providing them with product relevant authenticity, traceability information.  

From definition through to execution, Portera has played an integral role alongside our internal teams blending an appropriate mix of inspiration, technical know-how and operational pragmatism. By being our thinking partner, they helped us develop optimal strategies and implementation plans while overcoming technology challenges and deliver significant returns for our business.