Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), one of India’s major oil and gas giants, is set to revolutionize its purchase order (PO) verification process through the introduction of a cutting-edge blockchain system.
In a collaborative effort with blockchain software company Zupple Labs, HPCL is ushering in a new era of digital credentialing technology named “LegitDoc.” This innovative system streamlines the issuance of digital purchase orders to HPCL vendors, eliminating the need for manual verification.
The joint announcement made by both companies reveals that this groundbreaking technology facilitates third-party verification of POs in an entirely automated manner, accessible directly through HPCL’s website.
An HPCL spokesperson explained, “The implementation helps to automate the verification of HPCL POs to external parties.” They continued, “This works by integrating the blockchain system with HPCL’s internal e-PO and generates tamper-evident verifiable POs. These POs will be dispatched to vendors, which can then be easily shared with third parties. Any third-party verifier can directly confirm the authenticity of these POs through the HPCL vendor portal verification application.”
The collaboration between HPCL and Zupple Labs has spanned six months, resulting in the successful development of the blockchain PO system. According to the HPCL spokesperson, this advanced system will be officially rolled out to vendors within the current month.
Moreover, HPCL has chosen to implement the blockchain-based PO system on both private and public blockchain platforms. Zupple Labs’ co-founder and business lead, Neil Martis, revealed that the PO verification system incorporates the use of “two parallel blockchains” as settlement layers, comprising the public Near blockchain and the private Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. Notably, the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain has been integrated into HPCL’s Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery strategy.
As of mid-October 2023, HPCL has already issued an impressive 3,000 POs using this innovative blockchain-based facility. This move is indicative of HPCL’s commitment to improving efficiency and security in its procurement processes, a significant development in the energy sector of India.