Wine Supply Chain Tracking and Reporting System

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Tudor Cotruta

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

286750

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

8

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Integrate the Hydra-based supply chain tracking system blocks developed in the PoC phase, enhance the user experience, create a seamless reporting system and enable tokenisation of individual wines .

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

APACHE 2 licence

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG Subgoals

12.a - Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production

9.1 - Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

As part of the Proof of Concept phase of our Catalyst proposal for Wine Supply Chain Tracking (funded in Catalyst fund 11) we have implemented the components for a blockchain based system that enables indexing vineyards, capturing and exposing winery and wine data, and tokenising wine batches that can be tracked through our system. Currently we have 2 wineries onboarded to our platform and a few others have shown interest in joining once additional functionalities are integrated.

https://wines.blazarlabs.io/explore

While interacting with numerous wineries (over 50), we have realised that there is very high demand for a system that besides tracking the data at various stages of the supply chain, would also enable reporting data at all stages of the wine producing process for regulatory and compliance purposes. There are some commercial solutions available on the market, however the price associated with these makes them not feasible for small to medium sized wineries and even for bigger ones especially in poorer regions of the world like Moldova. In this context, we are looking to build a minimum viable product system based on the previously developed proof of concept, that would extend the list of data collected from wineries, by including details around volumes, quantities and pricing data, while also smoothing the user experience associated with data collection and data visualisation. 

The current PoC allows capturing the data via several forms, which does the work, however it is non-intuitive and our ambition is to make it more exhaustive in terms of data collected and streamline the process to reflect the specific phases associated with the wine producing process: terroir indexing and details, grapes harvesting process, bulk wine producing, wine bottling, wine storage, wine selling and logistics. Besides tracking data and enabling seamless reporting, the system will also enable tracking the quantities and volumes associated with entering and existing certain stages of the process.

In the PoC Phase, we implemented the ability to tokenize batches of wine and we are using Hydra Head to enable the necessary frequent metadata update at zero cost - this is dependent on partial commits and decommits feature of hydra. While the current implementation achieves the intended functionality, it uses full commits and full decommits, resulting in higher fees. We plan to transition to partial commits and decommits once they are available soon, as confirmed by the Hydra team with whom we are having regular meetings on a number of dimensions.

Beyond tokenizing wine batches, we aim to tokenize individual wine bottles via NFTs. This will allow for specific data to be added to each bottle, useful for logistics tracking and enabling the trading of individual bottles across NFT marketplaces and the wider Cardano ecosystem. Additionally, it will allow custom data to be added to specific bottles, which would also be beneficial in te context of wine collectors who would like to adnotate the metadata with custom inscriptions.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Having a fully integrated end to end system that would enable supply chain tracking for wine will enable mass adoption both on Moldova and international markets, triggering increased usage of the Cardano ecosystem as well as increased exposure of the ecosystem amongst businesses. Due to enablement of tokenisation of individual bottles of wine versus whole batches, we expect for wineries to open new channels for selling their wines by leveraging NFT marketplaces and dedicated platforms for wine and spirits trading which currently are closed due to technological limitations, this in turn should further trigger increased usage of the Cardano blockchain as well as further interest towards the ecosystem. It would also trigger increased interest from groups looking to create fine wine collections that could be traded over Web 3 ecosystems. 

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Our team is comprised of two dedicated professionals who's skills blend and complement each other - Tudor, who is a seasoned entrepreneur with a vast experience and exposure in the Cardano ecosystem and Sorin, who is a seasoned software delivery specialist with experience in building highly efficient IT systems.

Together we have already demonstrated our ability to successfully deliver to the promise as part of the PoC phase funded in Catalyst fund 11 and we are committed to further enhance the results achieved as part of that phase. The connections and agreements we have made throughout the PoC phase with diverse wineries as well as actors within the Cardano ecosystem determines us even more to continue delivering real world assets utility to the Cardano ecosystem.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Design and improvement of data input and visualisation processes.

Extensive research on the traceability needs of the wine industry.

Output:

A more intuitive data input flow and a reimagined data visualisation platform.

Tokenisation of individual bottles of wine

Smart contract implementation, testing and audit

Output:

Smart contract for:

Tokenizing individual bottles of wine integrated into the end to end solution.

Updating the tokens with latest info and digitised storage API in Hydra using partial commits/decommits.

Traceability and reporting system

Enhancements to the web app to capture terroirs, grapes and bulk & bottled wine data.

Output:

Additional features to the web app.

Custom automated reports like grapes quantity register, bulk wine report, bottling register etc.

Implement multi-language support and events participation for wineries outreach and onboarding.

Outputs

• Enable support for additional languages (28 languages):
• Event participation:

Moldova National Wine Day (October 2024)

Wine Paris and Vinexpo 2025 (February 2025)

Moldova wine agency and all wineries presentation of the technology (2025)

Project completion artefacts.

Output

Solution documentation.

Project completion report including details on wineries outreach and successful onboardings.

Promotion materials & campaign.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Tudor Cotruta

Tudor's role involves maintaining and facilitating interactions within the Cardano ecosystem, managing the project to ensure deadlines and commitments are met, and actively contributing to communication with businesses, developers, and other entities.

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tudor-cotruta-a6661a88/

Sorin Canter

Sorin holds a degree in applied mathematics, a master's in information technology, and has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry in roles such as engineer, consultant, teacher, and coach. He also has extensive leadership and management experience. His role is to provide analytical insight to the project, digest and leverage technical matters, and proactively contribute to the development process.

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sorin-canter-21716327/

Together, we have demonstrated reliability and the ability to deliver through our participation in Fund 11 for the blockchain-based wine supply chain tracking platform.

Razali 'Raz' - Catalyst Advisor 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razali-samsudin/

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Research of winery and wine agency requirements - 15k Ada

Design and improvement of data input and visualisation - 44k Ada

Tokenisation of individual bottles of wine, smart contract implementation, testing and audit - 45k Ada

Traceability enhancements to the web app - 20k Ada

Reporting system implementation, testing and integration - 58k Ada

Multi-language support - 18k Ada

National and international events participation for wineries outreach and onboarding - 35K

Milestones submission - 1.75k Ada (5 milestones)

Contingency funds - 10k Ada

Management - 21k Ada

Documentation - 11k Ada

Project completion artefacts - 8k Ada

Total: 286.75

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The MVP system for wine supply chain tracking would serve as a logical continuation of the foundations established during the PoC phase, potentially enabling mass adoption of the functionality beyond the current pilot engagements.

Currently, we are collaborating with a few wineries, with strong indications that many more are interested in leveraging our solution. Of particular interest is the development of a seamless traceability and reporting system.

To assess the necessity of this system, we have conducted a series of meetings with:

• Wine department in the Agricultural Ministry
• National Wineries Association
• Author Wines Association (small wineries)
• USAID (who are actively supporting moldovan industry's evolution)
• 30 wineries owners + 20 other wineries employees.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting an urgent need for this system that would likely be adopted by most wineries.

We believe this solution would bring significant value, and our interactions and expansion in Moldova could set a positive precedent, enabling us to extend the system to other countries. This expansion would enhance Cardano's real-life utility and global outreach."