Supply chain industry and blockchain technology
Current business process
The supply chain underpins major economic activities on a global market. The primary process involved in the supply chain management includes planning to execute and to control all the functions of the supply chain with a target of satisfying the needs of clients more efficiently. A supply chain consists of a network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, logistic facilities, and assembly. The network ensures that the functions of the procuring materials, and transforming the intermediate besides finished products and their distribution to end-users is done effectively. To enable the completion of all the functions, the first process, which is planning, is done to arrange all the functions to be undertaken in an orderly manner, which enables every function to be carried out in a faster and efficient manner (Lambert, García‐Dastugue & Croxton, 2005). The planning process includes the location of customers, manufacturers, and distributors along the network to facilitate the execution process. The execution process involves putting the plan into practice. This process will involve readying the products and supplying them to the right clients at their desired place at the correct price and at the right time.
Industry
The industry under discussion is a supply chain industry. This industry is widespread and very important in every other industry. The importance of the industry cannot be understated. However, the industry faces several hurdles, which hinders an efficient flow of services.
Current situation
The supply chain industry has evolved over the years. The changes have been attributed to the growing technology, which has enabled the smooth flow of services across the globe. For instance, the creation of RFID ID tags has automated tracking the goods under transit, which is an excellent move in the industry (Lambert, García‐Dastugue & Croxton, 2005). However, implementing the various stages in the industry has resulted in the slow movement of products across various destinations.
New technology
The new technology is blockchain. The blockchain technology works through smart contracts and ledgers which record all transactions and share them among the stakeholder within the contract. This enables tracking of all the transactions carried out by business people at any given time. Also, the problem of counterfeit which has been witnessed in the supply chain industry can be eliminated since the buyer will know exactly where the product came from and the specific features included (Queiroz, Telles & Bonilla, 2019). To make the technology even more reliable, there is no alteration since the information can only be added but cannot be changed once in the contract.
Benefits
The benefits of blockchain technology are the ability to enable tracking even without following all the procedures such as RFID ID tags. This will enable faster processing of products and translate to faster movement of products from suppliers to final clients. The record kept can also be used as evidence in case of any problem in the future.
Demerits
Though the blockchain technology may be attractive, it requires all parties to use the technology for it to work. This may be a challenge since not every business person understands and is ready to embrace the new technology.
Factors to consider
Blockchain technology matches business needs. There is various blockchain technology which is used in various industries. The first thing the firm needs to understand is the type of blockchain that it will implement (Singh et al., 2020). The second factor is how much the firm needs blockchain. This is critical because blockchain in a company that does not require it may result in unnecessary processes and expenses that may affect the business.
References
Lambert, D. M., García‐Dastugue, S. J., & Croxton, K. L. (2005). An evaluation of process-oriented supply chain management frameworks. Journal of business Logistics, 26(1), 25- 51.
Queiroz, M. M., Telles, R., & Bonilla, S. H. (2019). Blockchain and supply chain management integration: A systematic review of the literature. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
Singh, S., Sharma, P. K., Yoon, B., Shojafar, M., Cho, G. H., & Ra, I. H. (2020). The convergence of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence in IoT Network for the Sustainable Smart City. Sustainable Cities and Society, 102364.