May 15th 2018, Bath, UK: Blockchain is one of the most influential trends to impact on the logistics and supply chain sector, according to a recent poll by leading industry analyst, Ti-Insight. The global survey found that 56% of supply chain executives believed that the technology was ‘a game changer’. A further 30% believed it to be ‘an interesting trend’ and only 3% said it was ‘much ado about nothing.’
But what is ‘Blockchain’? Many claims have been made about the new technology but there are many confusions and misunderstandings about how it works and what benefits it will bring. Part of the problem has been its conflation with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the distrust which this has engendered in the underlying technology.
For this reason, Ti-Insight has released its latest report seeking to de-mystify the subject. Aimed at industry executives with no technological expertise, it is an easy to understand guidebook, setting out how it works, how it will be applied to the logistics and supply chain sector, case studies of its application and advice on when or if it should be implemented.
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.
According to the report’s expert writer, Ken Lyon, ‘Where many companies need to share data between themselves, their suppliers, partners, customers and competitors, the most obvious being supply chain visibility, blockchain is an exciting option.’ However, he warns that Blockchain is not for everybody. ‘In many cases it may make no sense to implement blockchain technology, for example applications built around a centralised database and accessed by specific users.’
Lyon concluded, ‘Blockchain technology is still evolving and has a number of challenges ahead of it, not least performance. But this is the same for all technologies that emerge. The successful ones improve, adapt and evolve so long as they provide utility and value.’
To download Ti’s new report Why is Blockchain a game changer for the supply chain management? , or for further information on the report, click here.
