School of Information Systems

How the adoption of Blockchain fosters confidence throughout value chains

When there is a necessity for a particular blockchain technology, such as providing transparency, immutability, ledger privacy, dependability, or safety, that technology should be used. Value drivers make it possible to lower transactional costs, offer new services, define organizational boundaries, automate and decentralize decision-making, and introduce new services. 

Supply chains as a whole and individual members can respond to changes more quickly thanks to distributed ledger technologies like blockchain, which share immutable copies of ledger entries with all parties. Additionally, because verification may be done at each conversion or value-adding stage, the transparency of the entire value chain is increased. 

Blockchains make it possible for numerous witnesses to participate, which strengthens confidence. Communities have a lot of chances to leverage decentralized, distributed ledger technologies to increase and strengthen trust between participants in an industry ecosystem as well as with outside stakeholders and investors. Transparency builds trust from the ground up, and once trust is established, communities can take care of themselves. 

Supply-Chain Transparency 

The most frequently mentioned examples of blockchain technology’s potential are cryptocurrencies, but others outside of the banking industry are becoming interested in the technology itself. 

Blockchain is positioned to assist procurement organizations across all industries lower their costs and improve performance while generating more value for their businesses. Benefits include increased security and visibility as well as tracking complex variables related to sustainability and ethical sourcing. 

The decentralized ledger, which stores and safeguards transaction data shared among numerous participants, is the fundamental component of the blockchain technology. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are examples of cryptocurrencies that use the blockchain to theoretically enable limitless and anonymous participants to conduct transactions without the need for a middleman. 

However, the goal of supply chain management is to improve security, guarantee contract compliance, and cut costs while enabling a certain number of well-known partners to interact with one another directly. A variety of transaction-related data is “tokenized” by supply chain blockchains instead of actual currencies, producing distinctive and easily verifiable identifiers for purchase orders, inventory units, bills of lading, etc. 

Additionally, blockchains are being used to foster trust across industries, such as the blockchain created for Queensland, Australia, by professional services firm KPMG. This program wasn’t initiated by the government, but rather by the industry in response to client and consumer demands to demonstrate how sugar cane growing affects biodiversity, how much carbon is emitted, and what steps are being taken to prevent harm as part of operations.  

According to information technology giant IBM Consulting Web 3.0 and Sustainability executive partner Shyam Nagarajan, 81% of businesses globally are active in blockchain activities, either piloting or using blockchain technologies, up from roughly 10% in 2017. 

Blockchain technology has advanced. Its utilization has generated tremendous value and no longer constitutes a risk. The adoption of this technology is a result of people’s confidence in it and the results of its use. 

Aisha Freena Hariansyah