Why link Supply Chain Images into the Blockchain?

Blockchain has great potential to solve problems and address supply chain problems. Personally, the area that excites me most is track and trace—especially when you consider the possibility of taking these capabilities to the next level.

Let us take a step back and look at the current supply chain processes and their evolution.

Packing slip, paper ASN

Advance Shipment Notices (ASNs) are sent in advance to let the receiver know what products or deliveries are hitting the facility. This allows the receiver to do a few things better including:

• Preparing labor to receive the product.
• Plan for order allocation and fulfillment.
• Effectively plan the supply and demand to run the corporate supply chain optimally and efficiently without huge spikes.
• Raise awareness in advance of potential exceptions.

In the past, supply chain partners shared packing slips via fax. Information sharing in this manner, although labor intensive, was worth it because it resulted in collective benefit. It was a step in the right direction. However, the human element and the vagaries of fax technology made it a slow and error prone process.

This first step provided a concrete example of the benefits of sharing information. In many cases, it created a new mindset. Even though many partners were competitors, collaboration provided a win/win.

Click here to continue reading this article.