Blockchain to Save Global Supply Chains
Globalization, while unlocking the potential to share goods across the world, has complicated the supply chain and several mishaps have occurred as a result. The byproducts of the mishaps are policies like farm-to-table, ethically sourced, and fair trade, which are demands from consumers for the supply of quality goods.
Only blockchain technology has a penetration level high enough to disrupt the supply chain and formulate efficient processes. This technology will alter the future of supply chains by ensuring better communication, higher system recovery, fewer disputes, and substantial profits in operational efficiency. The three potential applications of blockchain are:
• The provenance of the product and traceability
The authenticity of the product proves the quality of consumer goods. The process of name-tagging a particular code, which can only be altered by the authorized personnel, is the answer to wails of the consumers. The geo-tagging and time-stamping of goods can be traced back to their origin, increasing product safety, reducing fraud, increasing customer confidence, and making detail forecasting possible. With the use of blockchain technology, numerous players in the industry have traced goods, from luxury clothing to baby food, to their origin.
• Optimizing the global supply chain operations
When products are carried from their source to the destination in a supply chain, they pass through hundreds of hands. The lack of end-to-end integration and extensive use of manual processes allows access to the information within the supply chain, which can be misused by anyone, from the layman to the controller. At present, solutions like “bill of lading” are in use, which requires the people involved to sign the documentation physically. This can be avoided with blockchain technology, wherein an email-like interface interlocked with cryptographic signatures can be seamlessly templated for use among multiple parties. This not only secures the goods but also identifies where exactly the chain is broken.
• Anti-corruption and humanitarian purposes.
Fraudulent players behaving unethically during transactions for humanitarian purposes can be identified with the application of blockchain technology in the supply chain. A higher level of transparency and accountability is created by the sequential process, which avoids any discrepancies related to financial aid not reaching the end-users, as the process of decentralizing subsequent interactions will record each interaction. The record would allow the organization to register that the full amount that did not reach its intended recipient and follow the audit trail to the fraudulent actor.
The blockchain technologies are not only providing us a safe means of transaction and transportation of goods but also helping to create a just and unbiased tool for the supply chain participants. The goal of the innovators is to sail supply chains towards the waters of inclusiveness, inter-operational stability, and integrity.
The Potential of Blockchain in the Food Industry
Trust is significant in various industries like food and beverages and hospitals as they tackle the physical and emotional state of their clients directly. Resolutions provided by Blockchain helps to make sure that the faith between producers and consumers is not damaged. Blockchain technology for food and cultivation offers the essential tools and apparatus to protect data, relocate funds, and receive payments. Blockchain also protects products with immutable virtual intellectual property rights.
Need for Blockchain in Food Industry:
The number of people affected by food contamination was calculated to be around 582 million, as per a survey by the World Health Organization in 2010. There are many reasons for the occurrence — improper packaging, the addition of too many preservatives, and fake replacement manufacturers.
Government agencies have been trying their level best to eliminate food crime on a global scale using stringent regulations, but the changes will take some time before becoming a habit. With Blockchain issues, the usage of artificial ingredients, as well as counterfeit manufacturers, can be scrapped.
The majority of the Blockchain-based solutions in the food and beverage are conducted by shielding the digital identities of suppliers and manufacturers. It is accomplished for making certain that the only the essential party will know about the manufacturing procedures, and that there will be no concern of any third party that in turn reduces the odds of manipulation. Besides, Blockchain is well-resourced for removing issues surgically.
