Supply chain is one of the oldest industries. It has evolved from a simple process to a complex system to meet today's needs of organizations around the world. In this blog post, we will look at how blockchain can improve Supply Chain Management.
Blockchain technology is still in its infancy
Blockchain is a relatively new technology and is still emerging. The blockchain industry is constantly evolving and changing to meet the needs of different industries. It's important to remember that blockchain is not a panacea or silver bullet; it's simply one piece of the puzzle.
Blockchain technology has been applied successfully in other industries, but when it comes to Supply Chain Management and logistics, there are still many areas where this technology can be used effectively.
SCM in 30 seconds
What is it? Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the process of managing a product from creation to its delivery to customer. It encompasses various functions, such as procurement, production, inventory control and order fulfillment.
How does it work? As with most things in life, there are three main characters involved in Supply Chain Management: the supplier (who can be an individual or a company), buyer and consumer (or end-user).
Challenges in the industry today
Many companies face challenges in the supply chain that can be improved by blockchain technology. These include:
- transparency, traceability, and security
- inventory management and logistics
- payments and invoicing
- fraud prevention
Where do blockchain-based solutions fit in with SCM?
In a supply chain, the movement of goods is tracked using tags and barcodes. These tags and barcodes help to track the movement of goods, but they can only be read in certain locations. Blockchain-based solutions can be used to track shipments from their origin through every stage of their journey until they arrive at their destination.
The blockchain is an excellent tool for tracking money because it allows transparency throughout the entire process. When you send money via traditional methods such as checks or wire transfers, there is no way to know whether that money has arrived at its intended destination yet. It may take several days before you receive confirmation from your bank that this transaction was completed successfully. This makes it easy for scammers and hackers to steal money by simply delaying confirmation emails. By the time their victims realize what’s going on, those transactions expire anyway! Using blockchain technology solves these problems because each transaction gets relatively quickly processed, confirmed and transparently shown within network, virtually eliminating use of false identities and untrue claims of missing payments. Thus, making fraudsters much less likely to venture down this path knowing in advance just how easy it would be to detect them later down the road once we've all moved onto blockchain after getting bored waiting around too long.
Conclusion
Supply Chain Management is a complex process, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. Blockchain technology provides an opportunity for companies to solve some of their most pressing SCM problems. By using blockchain in supply chains, businesses can reduce costs and increase efficiency while maintaining transparency throughout the entire process.
