Blockchain can help untangle a complicated supply chain. While most Blockchain connoisseurs only bind it to Bitcoin and crypto/virtual currencies, it’s actually a much broader topic – transparent, distributed, and digital data storage (“digital book“ or ledger) that’s very widely used in various exchanges of documents, contracts, tracking these activities, and of course payments and billing.
The chain of command and responsibility is important in a lot of things, including the supply chain, and Blockchain has it in its code. Of course, nothing will be the same in the world economy when the ongoing coronavirus pandemic ends. This applies to the supply chain, too. According to Deloitte, data that was collected so far demonstrates the slowdown of the major developed economies in March.
We have all the basics needed for stability and integrity in the supply chain at Blockchain. It allows us to reach a consensus in communication and trust for all participants, as well as all the necessary information since all participants have access to the same base/ledger. Everyone in that chain can see asset data, such as ownership and attributes. All records remain permanently in the database and can’t be deleted or manipulated, which is also very important for an efficient supply chain.
Cloud computing is one of the latest computing trends that makes it easier to manage your supply chain because all your data is in one place. There’s no dilemma, cloud-based supply chain software and applications are revolutionizing supply chain management today. The adoption of cloud computing increases rapidly with cloud-specific spending expected to grow.
How Blockchain Will Help Supply Chains?
1) Improving visibility
Registering a transfer of goods in a ledger will help promote visibility, identify all parties involved in the transaction, state, quality, and price of the product, as well as the date and location of the transaction. The availability of product information to all parties helps to ensure the integrity of the data. Because Blockchain is decentralized in structure, neither party will be able to own or manipulate the data for its own personal advantage.
The inapplicable and cryptographic nature of the data makes it impossible to compromise the ledger. From production to final sale of a product, every time a product changes hands, details will be documented in the Blockchain database, so it will always be a permanent history.
2) Eliminatingerrors and responding to problems faster
Recording, monitoring, verification of physical product properties, connectivity, and sharing will be done in real-time with the new technology. Blockchain technology can effectively reduce human error while eliminating the costs and time delays that drive transactions in today’s supply chains.
For example, load conditions factors such as temperature data can be agreed upon in contract measures. As such, participants are required to report them, or they can be detected automatically by sensors. Systems can be designed to identify any breach of agreed boundaries, thereby creating the ability to respond to and mitigate problems at the time of occurrence rather than days later, and remove them in further steps.
3) Early detection of unethical suppliers and counterfeit products
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are predicted to benefit from a secure record of product history that provides evidence that raw materials or products are manufactured from acceptable sources. One of the industries that might benefit from this Blockchain characteristics most is the pharmaceutical industry. Its supply chain is extremely interested in Blockchain, and especially in its potential to shut down the counterfeit medicinal plant industry, which estimates $ 75 billion in sales annually while responsible for the deaths of 100,000 people.
The proactive sustainability of the supply chain can be achieved through the use of Blockchain, as the data it provides can help identify and correct contract breaches, layoffs, and bottlenecks in the flow of goods.
Arnold Webb received a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Harvard University. Arnold currently is a full-time researcher and trader in the cryptocurrency industry. Arnold contributes content to CryptoCelebrities.co, The Bitcoin Magazine and several other publications.