Why is Blockchain a Game Changer for Supply Chain Management?

This report seeks to explain and clarify Blockchain technology, what it is, how it functions and its potential for use in the logistics and supply chain management sector.

The report (available as a PDF and an interactive version) mainly aims to serve supply chain executives who have little knowledge of blockchain and its use cases for the logistics industry and want to make informed decision on whether investing in the technology would bring value to their business.

We hope that by providing practical advice and guidance we can help you determine whether blockchain would make sense for your organisation and under what circumstances blockchain would not be of value.

Exploring the very latest analysis and drawing on a number of use cases as well as interviews with a number of professionals in the area, including IBM, OriginTrail and a leading logistics provider, the report examines the viability of blockchain based solutions in supply chain management. In addition, the report provides insights into the main limitations of the technology and key obstacles to a wider acceptance of the technology in the logistics industry. The analysis is backed by the evidence from the interviewed blockchain startups and LSPs about the main issues they have encountered when applying the technology.   

Key questions the report asks and answers:

• What is blockchain and what are the main limitations?
• Do you need a blockchain?
• What value could blockchain based solutions deliver to your operations?
• How can blockchain reduce your supply chain costs?
• What are the potential areas of use in supply chain management?
• How is the technology already being applied across the logistics industry?
• How can someone be sure that the participants in the blockchain are not providing false data?

Key findings

• Due to the fragmented nature of today’s supply chains, a new kind of trust model would be helpful. In a commercial environment where there are numerous participants who need to establish relationships and transfer funds, Blockchain can provide a trust mechanism to do this.
• While the use of blockchain based solutions can help reduce the number of paper-based exchanges along the supply chain, the blockchain will not make the paper-based processes disappear, rather it will be used in addition to the paper processes.
• The distributed nature of the blockchain means that it cannot be tampered with easily, so this means transaction information is very trustworthy. In fact, they are probably the most trustworthy mechanisms for maintaining a transaction ledger there is.

Exclusive highlights

• “Whenever you have a trust gap that needs to be overcome, blockchain makes sense”
• Food supply chains are increasingly complex and dynamic, so transparency is essential to guarantee food quality and provenance. This is however, not an easy task. Given these problems, it comes as no surprise that several blockchain initiatives have already been established in the sector.
• The more automated the processes are, the more difficult it is to tamper with the data. By digitising the supply chain processes, the relevant information is captured directly from sensors and entered onto the blockchain.