Blockchain technology is an innovative trend for those concerned with data security and process optimization.
Blockchain technology is not limited to financial services alone. With digital transformations and the exponential increase in data usage, security and transparency have certainly become top priorities for all companies. It creates new opportunities that procurement departments must seize to enhance the traceability and security of supply chains and product delivery.
Although it emerged in 2008—initially used in financial services, such as Bitcoin—it can now also serve procurement.
Blockchain structures data in a way that allows the creation and sharing of a digital ledger in which all transactions are recorded. This technology relies on cryptography to allow all users to securely add new information, without the need for a "central" authority.
A specific characteristic of this type of storage is that data in the Blockchain cannot be altered once recorded. The technology ensures the authenticity and integrity of the data.
Blockchain Applied to Supply Chain
Applied to the supply chain, Blockchain can be used to introduce transparency previously unattainable in outsourcing and distribution channels. Currently, this information is partial, unverified, and unauthenticated by each of the numerous stakeholders in the supply chain. Data quality therefore degrades with each transaction, leaving the end user with only a tiny pixel of the complete picture regarding the purchased product.
Blockchain can be used not only to trace the origin and manufacturer of the product, but also all the components and raw materials that make it up. As well as all intermediaries who handled, processed, and transported it, breaking the information silos of traditional supply chains.
Major corporations have begun testing this technology. In the United States, Walmart and IBM are working together to develop a Blockchain system to track pork; from farm to fork.
Blockchain technology is used to immutably record every step of the meat's journey. For the retail distributor, the ability to collect this information (such as storage and shipping temperatures), from producer to shelf, creates a significant competitive advantage in terms of product quality, as well as food safety and consumer trust.
Security in Blockchain
Blockchain technology eliminates the risks of a centralized data system by storing data across its entire network. Therefore, hackers cannot exploit vulnerabilities as they do in a centralized network. Advanced cryptography is utilized by Blockchain security methods, employing both public and private keys.
New Horizons
Blockchain is transforming the way technology handles exchanges and transactions between individuals, whether natural persons or corporate entities. Securing transactions between parties without the verification of a regulatory authority enables the development of trust-based services.
Blockchain will drive a revolution in the way we conduct business; furthermore, it will bring about a truly transformative change, generating substantial opportunities for those who know how to capitalize on it.
