A proposed independent, non-commercial industry forum for New Zealand to move together on end-to-end supply-chain visibility and traceability — because the business case only stacks up across the chain, not alone.
“NZ Supply Chain Visibility Council” is a working title. A te reo Māori name will be developed in partnership.
Why now
Market access is increasingly gated on verifiable digital traceability. The direction of travel is clear and accelerating:
None of this is optional for exporters who want those markets — and the capability to produce trusted, verifiable provenance takes years to build well. Building it collectively and ahead of the curve beats scrambling deadline by deadline.
And the domestic opportunity is real. New Zealand tends to start slowly but catch up fast — we’re small enough to leapfrog once a few players move. The national agenda already recognises this: the Ministry of Transport’s Aotearoa New Zealand Freight & Supply Chain Strategy names data-sharing, interoperability and better system-wide visibility as priorities.
The barrier we keep hitting
It is hard to justify visibility or traceability spend when suppliers and freight providers do not share digital traceability records, there is no customs process to plug into, and your customers aren’t set up to receive it either — so you carry the whole return inside your own four walls.
The economics flip when it’s vertical. The more layers of the chain that are digitally connected — manufacturer → logistics → customs → wholesaler/retailer → even the customer — the more use cases there are to amortise each party’s spend against, and the lower the marginal cost of connecting further up the chain.
“No one wants to be first; plenty want to be second.
The answer is to go together.”
What it is — and isn’t
Draft scope, to be ratified by the founding members.
What it does
Bring the whole chain, the agencies and the standards bodies to one standing table — not a one-off.
A unified, non-partisan industry voice to Customs, MPI, MoT and MBIE.
Partner GS1, RAIN and IEEE on interoperability rather than reinvent it.
Make the network business case so members can justify investment.
Members who choose to can then collaborate — including commercially — on segment initiatives. What members do together is theirs.
Rank what’s actually stopping investment, and put it on the first agenda.
Who we’re bringing to the table
An open, not a closed, list. We’re inviting organisations from across the chain and the system around it:
Founding anchors are being confirmed and will be announced when ready. If your organisation belongs at this table, register below.
The kickoff
A rising tide lifts all boats — the more of the chain that joins early, the sooner no one is going first alone, and the more everyone gains. We’ll review the founding cohort about four weeks after the Aka Raupapa Superhui (1–2 July 2026), so add your name now to help shape it from the start.
Register your interestRegister your interest
No obligation, no fee, no commitment. Registering simply tells us you’re interested and want to be kept abreast.
We’ll be in touch as the forum takes shape. Feel free to forward this page to others in your chain who should be at the table.