• Do consumers even care about supply chains?

    73% of consumers would pay more if there was more transparency regarding products, 53% in particular would like more information about where a product comes from and how it was produced (First Insight 2016). 55% of German consumers are often unsure which product is the most sustainable (KPMG 2020). This is certainly one reason why more than 70% of German consumers want to consume sustainably, but only 18% actually do so regularly (KPMG 2020). After all, the most important purchasing decision factor for sustainability is trust for ⅔ of global consumers (Nielsen 2015)! Therefore, 35% of U.S. consumers would switch brands if another one provided more and better understandable information (Food Revolution Study 2016). So consumers care about supply chains, we are convinced: YES!

  • How do consumers get the information about the supply chain?

    Consumers can scan a QR code, which has been created on our platform, on the packaging of a specific product. All they have to do is hold the camera of their smartphone on the QR code and the entire story with the batch-specific supply chain information of the product will be displayed.

  • How long does it take to make my supply chain transparent with blockchain?

    On average, you need 30 minutes to create a product on our platform and thus also to create your first digital twin on the blockchain. Once created & with a bit of practice, a manual entry of batches takes a maximum of three minutes. You will get a detailed onboarding with us at the beginning. If you have any questions or suggestions, we are always ready to help.

  • Who is OURZ already working with?

    From startups to small and medium-sized enterprises to corporations, we work with everyone who is interested in transparent supply chains and looks for a strong partnership. So we’re open to anyone who wants to demonstrate their willingness for transparency to the outside world. Feel free to contact us at sales@ourz.world if you are interested.

  • As a brand, I think transparency is great, but I’m not yet at the point where I know all my suppliers. What now?

    No problem! Every company starts small. The most important thing is that you want to work on the transparency of your supply chain. We show your supply chains as far as you know them and want to communicate them. In case of missing data or suppliers, we make it clear that you are working on showing them in the future. So far, no one has fallen on their toes with this, rather it shows honesty and the will to change.

  • Who is part of the OURZ team?

    Our team consists partly of sustainability hippies and partly of tech nerds. We work closely together and complement each other perfectly to further OURZ and our mission. Check out our team page if you want to know exactly who is doing what behind the scenes.

  • Isn’t blockchain super harmful to the environment?

    Not all cars emit the same amount of carbon dioxide; some don’t even use fossil resources at all. Sure, most well-known blockchain networks, like Bitcoin, consume a lot of energy. But OURZ runs its own blockchain network, which uses only 40 watts in total. That means our entire network consumes less power than a normal refrigerator.

  • What information do brands have to provide to us in any case?

    Who was involved in the production process, what did she:he do, where did she:he do it, how much did she:he produce & when did it all happen.

  • What information can and cannot be stored on the blockchain?

    The bottom line is that any type of data can be stored on our blockchain. But why should the life story of a particular farmer be stored forever in an unfalsifiable way? Much more interesting is dynamic, batch-specific data, such as who produced which product, when they did it, how much of it was produced, and perhaps additional information such as how much salary was paid or how much CO2 was produced in the process.

  • Isn’t it possible to lie on the blockchain as well?

    Yes, it is possible to lie on the blockchain! But: The false information remains forever visible for all and since information must always fit to already existing information, it becomes difficult not to contradict yourself after a lie. If the fictional brand Nästlär has only received 1t of sustainable cocoa from its suppliers, it cannot suddenly use 2t of sustainable cocoa.

  • Why do we use blockchain for the supply chains of food?

    Rotten meat, horse meat lasagna, illegal fishing and especially child & slave labor. All this (and much more) is possible because noone can trace food products or does not want to. However, blockchain technology can document the path of every single ingredient of a product from origin to consumer in a forgery-proof way. We use the decentralized character of the blockchain to move from our current world, in which at most the necessary information is shared, to fair and transparent data networks!

  • What is Blockchain?

    It is the first mature technology that brings decentralized systems into the real world. Blockchain is the technology that stands for transparency, accessibility and trust through code. It is the key to provide trust-based services in a digital environment which is currently flooded with fake data. Data once on the blockchain cannot be modified or deleted because it is stored in many distributed locations. In addition, new data coming onto the blockchain must always match existing data.