The pressure for results in procurement has never been greater. Reducing costs, extending payment terms, ensuring supply, and dealing with lean structures is the standard scenario for those working in supply chain management today. It is in this context that the Blockchain Procurement model emerges as a concrete value driver—especially when combined with the master database and structured community of CH | Astrein .

More than just a concept, Blockchain Procurement is already an operational practice, with active contracts, structured categories, approved suppliers, and proven results in major industries in Brazil. The central point is simple: unify the demand for indirect materials using a common code (Golden Code), negotiate as a group, and return individual gains to each client in terms of price, delivery time, and governance.

Throughout this article, you will see how this approach is supported by the CH | Astrein community, why the focus on indirect materials is strategic, which categories are already being worked on, what financial results have been obtained, and how the negotiation dynamics preserve the autonomy of each company. All of this within a success fee model , where the investment is made viable based on the savings generated.

The objective is clear: to show how Blockchain Procurement can become a structured lever for impacting EBITDA, cash flow, and productivity in the purchasing area.

What is Blockchain Procurement in practice?

In the context of CH | Astrein, Blockchain Procurement is a community-based trading model that uses the Golden Code – the “CPF” (Brazilian taxpayer ID) of each item – to unify demands from different companies around the same indirect material references.

The basis of the process lies in what CH | Astrein has been doing for years:

• Data cleansing;

• Standardization of descriptions;

• Master data governance;

• Unique identification of items within the Webformat platform.

  
  

Each item receives a Golden Code , which acts as a primary key connecting the various clients in the community. Although each company has its own internal ERP code, there is always a mapping to this common identifier.

Based on this Golden Code, Blockchain Procurement (BCP) is able to:

• Group consumption volumes from different companies for the same SKU;

• To view the consolidated volume of indirect materials;

• Structuring large-scale negotiations with suppliers;

• To offer differentiated commercial terms to each client, respecting their specific needs.

  
  

This is not a buying club or a cartel. It's about using a common item identifier to transform fragmented demands into a relevant negotiable volume—without companies ceasing to have fully individual contracts, terms, and management.

Why the focus on indirect materials?

CH | Astrein and BCP's Blockchain Procurement focuses on indirect materials , and that's no coincidence.

In indirect materials:

• The specifications are more standardized :

  • An SKF bearing is the same for several companies;

  • Cables, circuit breakers, PPE, and tools follow established market standards.

    
    

• It is possible to share demand without encroaching on strategic aspects of raw materials, which are very specific to each industry.

  
  

Already in raw material form:

• The specifications are more internal and individualized; each industry adjusts alloys, compositions, and technical characteristics according to its production process.

• It becomes much more difficult – and often inappropriate – to seek gains through demand unification.

  
  

By focusing efforts on indirect materials, Blockchain Procurement operates precisely in the leverageable items quadrant of the Kraljic matrix:

• High financial impact;

• High negotiation potential;

• Suitable profile for consolidation and structured contracts.

  
  

In practice, these are items that consume millions of reais per year, with a high dispersion of suppliers, many codes, many spot purchases, and enormous potential for profit when treated as a whole.

The CH | Astrein community and the role of the Golden Code.

The CH | Astrein community today consists of nearly 300 clients, considering the merger between CH Master Data and Astrein Engenharia. These are leading companies in their respective sectors, with operations distributed throughout Brazil, large material bases, and complex supply chain challenges.

This community shares a strategic asset:

• A common master data model ,

• A standard for technical description ,

• And most importantly, the Golden Code as a unique identifier for the items.

  
  

This Golden Code allows you to:

1. Each client should have their own internal registration, aligned with their specific needs and their ERP system.

2. CH | Astrein has a consolidated view of the community, connecting the internal codes of each company to a single code.

3. BCP uses this consolidated view to unify demand by SKU , while respecting the limitations of each business.

   
   

When a new supplier is registered for an SKU, when a technical alternative is identified, or when additional data is added, this information is distributed to the entire community, within the governance rules. The same reasoning applies to aggregated commercial data , used as a basis for negotiations in Blockchain Procurement.

The result is an environment in which:

• Companies benefit from the accumulated knowledge of the community;

• BCP is able to build a robust view of volumes;

• Suppliers see flat and relevant demand, with less commercial effort, greater predictability, and better capacity planning.

  
  

How does the Blockchain Procurement model work?

The operation of Blockchain Procurement can be summarized in four main steps, all supported by BCP's procurement expertise and CH | Astrein's data infrastructure.

1. Baseline formation

It all starts with building a robust baseline . At this stage, the BCP:

• Receives baselines for each client by category;

• It standardizes information, eliminates noise, and ensures comparability.

• Aligns the concept of net price (including taxes, shipping, and commercial terms) between companies;

• Validate with each purchasing team to ensure that items are correctly classified, that volumes make sense, and that current suppliers are properly identified.

  
  

This is the stage where master data knowledge meets purchasing knowledge. Without a well-formed baseline, any negotiation would be weakened.

2. Selection of items and categories (ABC curve)

Typically, categories such as electrical materials can have 3,000 or more items.

To provide initial speed and impact, the BCP:

• It applies an ABC curve analysis to consumption;

• Focus, in the first wave, on items A (approximately 10% of the items, with the greatest financial impact);

• Conduct the IDB with this "critical layer" of items;

• Next, expand the contract to include items B and C, incorporating the largest possible volume within the negotiated conditions.

  
  

That way:

• The customer quickly verifies the profit (money "that was on the table" goes into the cash register);

• The purchasing team then has a structured contract covering hundreds or thousands of items;

• The department's time is freed up to handle more strategic contracts for raw materials and services.

  
  

3. Bulk negotiation with suppliers

With the baseline consolidated and the items defined, the BCP:

• Select relevant market suppliers in each category;

• Includes suppliers that are already partners of BCP;

• Evaluates, together with each client, current suppliers who should or should not participate in the bidding process (based on performance, service quality, SLA, after-sales service, among other factors);

• Send the quote in a consolidated format, representing the combined demand of 5, 6, 7 or more clients.

  
  

Here, the volumetry takes on a different scale:

• In a bidding process for electrical materials, for example, BCP has already negotiated something around R$ 35 million in a single round;

• In some projects, a client's consolidated category may be R$10 million or R$20 million , which would increase the theoretical collection, but it is limited by the BCP ceiling (cap), as we will see later.

  
  

Furthermore:

• Suppliers are beginning to see more stable demand over 12 months , reflecting fluctuations in consumption between different companies;

• The negotiation is based on the lowest internal price found in the community , and not just on the isolated reality of a single company.

  
  

4. Individual contracts, tailor-made conditions

Although the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) is conducted as a group, the formalization is always individual .

• Each customer finalizes their contract directly with the supplier ;

• The final commercial terms (payment terms, CIF/FOB freight, specific details) are adjusted to the reality of each company;

• BCP does not get involved in order processing, invoicing, or receiving payments – the day-to-day operations remain between the buyer and the supplier.

  
  

BCP acts as:

• Structurer and facilitator of the negotiation;

• Support in equalizing proposals;

• Partner in post-closure management, helping to monitor service and mediating any necessary adjustments.

  
  

Categories already covered in Blockchain Procurement

Over the past two years, Blockchain Procurement has been applied repeatedly, focusing on four major families of indirect materials:

• Bearings and bushings

• Electrical materials (with various subcategories, such as wires and cables, circuit breakers, lighting, etc.)

• PPE, uniforms and footwear (which can be handled together or separately, depending on each client's needs)

• Hand tools (from pliers and screwdrivers to machining items and bits)

  
  

These are categories that, for many clients, add up to:

• Thousands of active codes;

• High volume of spot purchases;

• Widespread fragmentation among suppliers;

• Significant operational effort is required for the purchasing department.

  
  

By bringing them into the Blockchain Procurement model , BCP and CH | Astrein have been able to:

• Structuring contracts covering 3,000, 5,000, or even 7,000 items per category;

• To consolidate more robust commercial conditions, with extended payment terms and negotiated freight (CIF);

• Standardize registrations and descriptions to the same level of quality as a formal sanitation project.

  
  

Concrete results: savings, timelines, and financial impact.

The results obtained so far in Blockchain Procurement are consistent, both in terms of price reduction and improved payment terms.

Some of the intervals used in previous projects:

• Electrical materials:

  • Savings between 22% and 30% on the lowest domestic baseline price.

• Bearings and bushings:

  • Reduction ranges of 20% to 30% .

• PPE, uniforms and footwear:

  • A more mature market, but still with gains in the order of 13% to 17% .

• Hand tools:

  • reductions between 20% and 25% .

    
    

Adding up all the projects carried out, BCP has already delivered more than R$ 25 million in gains to companies in the CH | Astrein community, considering only indirect materials.

Besides the price, there are significant gains in:

• Payment terms , with negotiations reaching up to 120 days without loss of competitiveness;

• CIF freight , with nationwide coverage, enabling service to clients with dozens of plants distributed throughout the country;

• Reducing spot purchases by incorporating B and C items into contracts, thus reducing operational effort and errors between order and invoicing.

  
  

The ultimate impact falls on three major indicators:

• EBITDA , due to direct cost reduction;

• Cash flow , via longer payment terms;

• Capital employed , as more robust contracts open up space to work with inventory, consignment, and supply guarantees.

  
  

Real-life cases: Intercement, Valgroup, Ancor, and others.

Several companies have already participated in Blockchain Procurement Bids , including:

• Intercement;

• Suzano;

• Medley/Medias Branco;

• Danone;

• Valgroup;

• Anchor;

• Among other major industries from a wide variety of sectors.

  
  

Two examples stand out:

Intercement

• A company with 15 factories distributed throughout Brazil , requiring suppliers with broad geographic coverage.

• Project focused on indirect materials, with a baseline consolidated across multiple plants.

• Well-defined phases:

• Baseline formation;

• Negotiating with suppliers;

• Implementation of contracts and expansion to items B and C.

• Result:

  • Price reductions within the expected range (above 20%).

  • Payment terms extended up to 120 days ;

  • Significant impact on cash flow and EBITDA.

    
    

Valgroup (plastic packaging)

• A group with 41 production plants in Brazil, serving major beverage players.

• Project involving categories such as bearings, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and electrical materials.

• Negotiation working with terms of 90 and 120 days, with CIF shipping.

• Savings of 18% to 20% in key categories, with the customer having the strategic option to balance payment terms and price.

  
  

An important point of these cases is the proof that even companies competing in their markets – such as Valgroup and Ancor, both in plastic packaging – can work together on indirect materials without compromising their competitiveness in raw materials.

The focus is purely on efficiency gains; there is no exchange of sensitive information about the core business.

How Blockchain Procurement coexists with the internal purchasing area.

A common question from managers and senior buyers is:

"If we already have a mature procurement area, with strategic sourcing, Kraljic matrix and negotiation policies, why can Blockchain Procurement offer additional benefits?"

The answer lies not in the competence of domestic buyers, but in the scale of demand that the model allows to be created:

• Individually, a buyer already moves millions of reais in a given category;

• In Blockchain Procurement , the volume increases to tens of millions, encompassing multiple clients;

• Suppliers begin to see it as a "big deal," and not just another important contract.

  
  

Furthermore:

• The negotiation starts from the lowest domestic price already practiced among the participating clients, and not from an isolated reality;

• BCP offers its own platform structure to equalize thousands of items and multiple suppliers in a comparable and transparent process.

  
  

Another important practical effect:

• By shifting indirect materials negotiation to a bulk model, the internal buyer gains time to focus on:

  • Raw material contracts;

  • Critical services;

  • Innovation projects and strategic partnerships;

  • Structural supply chain initiatives.

    
    

The result is a combination of greater financial gain and a stronger strategic focus for the purchasing area.

What if the company is not yet part of the CH | Astrein community?

The Blockchain Procurement model also solves a recurring problem: the difficulty of obtaining specific CAPEX approvals for data cleanup projects.

In many cases:

• The sales cycle for a complete sanitation project is 1 to 2 years;

• The CAPEX budget is tight or competing with other priorities;

• The registration process remains on a "waiting list," even though it is critical for automation and governance.

  
  

In the Blockchain Procurement project , the following happens:

• The company contracts a collective bargaining service (OPEX);

• The items involved in the BID receive the same streamlining and standardization treatment applied in a formal project;

• These items are connected to the Golden Code , thus becoming part of the CH | Astrein community;

• This is done without relying on dedicated CAPEX for registration.

  
  

In practice, the entry point could be:

• Participate in a bidding process for bearings, PPE, or electrical materials;

• Having the items processed and connected to the Golden Code within BCP's own service;

• From there, the decision to expand the scope of sanitation to the entire registry will mature internally.

  
  

Compensation model: success fee with a cap.

One of the strengths of Blockchain Procurement is its success fee- based compensation model .

• There is no entrance fee.

• If there is no profit, there is no charge.

• BCP is only remunerated based on the actual savings achieved in the category.

  
  

The logic works like this:

• If the profit is up to 1.99% , there is no fee.

• With a return of 2% to 9.99% , BCP charges 2% on the total annual return for the category.

• Between 10% and 14.99% , the charge is 4% .

• Above 15% , the charge is 4.5% .

  
  

Simplified example:

• A company buys R$ 3 million worth of bearings per year;

• The project delivers 20% savings;

• Theoretically, the charge would be 4.5% on the R$3 million.

  
  

However, the model includes a roof (cap) :

• Regardless of the category size, BCP does not exceed R$ 190,000.00 in remuneration per project;

• There have been cases where the category totaled R$ 20 million and the savings exceeded 20%, which theoretically would generate almost R$ 900,000 in fees;

• Nevertheless, the cap of R$ 190,000 was applied.

  
  

This model guarantees:

• Win-win relationship : the customer retains the majority of the benefit;

• Cost predictability for very large categories;

• Complete alignment between BCP's interests and the client's interests in maximizing the results of Blockchain Procurement .

  
  

How to get started with Blockchain Procurement

For those who are already CH | Astrein customers and part of the community:

1. The items are already connected to the Golden Code .

2. Membership can be immediate , starting with a pilot category.

3. It is even possible to simulate with BCP what current prices would look like if the company adhered to existing contracts.

   
   

For those who are not yet part of the community:

1. It is possible to start with a specific category (e.g., bearings, PPE, electrical materials).

2. During the project, the items are cleaned up and connected to the Golden Code , with the same quality standards as the registration projects.

3. The contracting is done as OPEX, within the Blockchain Procurement service , without depending on prior CAPEX for debt restructuring.

   
   

In both cases, a good strategy is:

• Start with a pilot category;

• To prove the savings over a complete cycle;

• Involve the supply chain management and the CFO, based on the actual figures;

• Expand the scope to include new categories and trading waves.

  
  

Conclusion: When Master Data Meets Blockchain Procurement

The Blockchain Procurement model from CH | Astrein and BCP demonstrates, in practice, what happens when two areas of expertise meet:

• On one side, master data management , Golden Code, structured community and governance of master data;

• On the other hand, deep expertise in procurement , bidding platform and demand unification methodology.

  
  

The result is a model in which:

• Companies from different sectors can share gains in indirect materials;

• Domestic buyers retain their autonomy and broaden their strategic focus;

• Suppliers are now able to negotiate with a consolidated, more predictable, and attractive demand;

• The project's remuneration is made possible through the savings themselves, with a cap and transparency.

  
  

For companies already operating with squeezed margins, cost inflation, and a constant need to free up cash, initiatives like this cease to be "side projects" and become part of the central competitiveness agenda.

In a scenario where every decision in supply counts, Blockchain Procurement ceases to be just a term and establishes itself as a concrete path to transform data, community, and scale into consistent results for purchasing and finance.

Bonus: How to extract more value from Blockchain Procurement

One way to maximize the value of Blockchain Procurement is to treat the project not just as a one-off transaction, but as an ongoing program for improving indirect materials.

Three movements help amplify the impact:

• Periodic bidding rounds: reviewing contracts in regular cycles, incorporating new items and suppliers.

• Integration with internal indicators: connecting savings and payment terms to EBITDA targets, cash flow, and capital employed.

• Alignment with data governance: ensuring that every item traded is returned to the master database with standardized quality, reinforcing the master database.