RESOURCES

SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY

In the year 2022 the logistics industry’s annual revenue will top $15 trillion dollars. The market size and potential is immense, but it is also complex. The global supply chain consists of millions of actors and a myriad of cargo types. No supply chain is the same and very rarely do two actors in the supply chain have the exact same problem. While advances in the physical supply chain have been made, the associated information supply chain is where the logistics industry has fallen behind. With existing technologies and solutions, supply-chain-wide transparency and visibility of information is almost impossible. Participants are restricted to sharing pre-agreed information on a point-to-point basis using pre-Internet communication protocols. This means the majority of cargo information is locked away in siloed legacy systems. A different approach to sharing information is required to bring innovation and improve supply chain visibility.

Blockchain and
supply chain

Originally, blockchain technology was designed for digital currencies such as Bitcoin. It wasn’t long before the tech community recognised its potential for other applications, to the point it’s become the backbone of a new type of Internet. As everyone in the supply chain industry is aware, managing a chain is complex. It can involve hundreds of stages, many locations, many financial transactions, and potentially thousands of people communicating with each other. There is a real need for more streamlined and efficient processes. Blockchain is emerging as a potential solution, the new technology makes it easier to track and trace a product, allowing all partners involved to see where it has originated, where it’s been, and where it’s destined to go. This level of transparency makes it harder for counterfeiters to hack into supply chain systems and cause problems.