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Blockchain in Supply Chain

Blockchain for Supply Chain and Procurement use cases (VeChain introduction)

By Sendil Arasu Vijaya KumarPublished 3 years ago 4 min read

Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize supply chain management by providing an immutable and transparent ledger of transactions. This can improve supply chain efficiency and traceability, enabling real-time tracking of goods as they move through the supply chain. Some potential use cases for blockchain in supply chain include:

Traceability: Blockchain can enable the tracking of products from their origin to the end consumer, providing transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain.

Counterfeit prevention: Blockchain can help prevent counterfeit products by providing a tamper-proof record of a product's authenticity and provenance.

Smart Contracts: Blockchain can enable the use of smart contracts to automate the execution of supply chain processes, such as payments and product delivery.

Inventory Management: Blockchain can be used to manage inventory levels across the supply chain, providing real-time visibility into stock levels and reducing the need for manual inventory management.

Payment and settlement: Blockchain can facilitate faster and more secure payment and settlement processes between supply chain partners.

Predictive Maintenance: Blockchain can be used to store and share data from IoT devices, enabling predictive maintenance for machinery and equipment.

Quality assurance: Blockchain can help ensure the quality of products by recording and tracking important information such as temperature, humidity and inspection results throughout the supply chain.

Quality Control: Blockchain can be used to record and share information about the quality control processes of products, which can help to ensure that products meet the required standards before they reach the customers.

Compliance and certification: Blockchain can be used to store and share certifications and compliance information, such as organic or fair trade certifications, making it easier for companies to meet regulatory requirements.

Logistics and shipping: Blockchain can be used to track the movement of goods and cargo in real-time, providing greater visibility and efficiency in logistics and shipping.

Carbon footprint tracking: Blockchain can be used to track and record the carbon footprint of products and supply chain processes, enabling companies to reduce their environmental impact.

Supply Chain Financing: Blockchain can be used to create decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that allow suppliers to receive financing from multiple sources and investors to invest in supply chain assets with low-cost, low-risk, and high returns.

Traceability and Authentication of luxury goods: Blockchain can be used to track luxury goods throughout the supply chain, which can help to ensure authenticity and prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods.

Supply Chain Optimization: Blockchain can be used to improve supply chain efficiency by providing real-time data and reducing the need for intermediaries, resulting in cost savings and faster delivery times.

Food safety: Blockchain can be used to track food products from farm to table, providing transparency and traceability throughout the food supply chain. This can help to ensure food safety and quickly identify and address any issues that may arise.

Pharmaceuticals: Blockchain can be used to track and trace pharmaceutical products throughout the supply chain, ensuring that drugs are properly stored, transported and handled to maintain their effectiveness.

Humanitarian aid: Blockchain can be used to track the distribution of humanitarian aid, providing transparency and accountability in the distribution process.

Supply chain finance: Blockchain can be used to create decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that allow suppliers to receive financing from multiple sources and investors to invest in supply chain assets with low-cost, low-risk, and high returns.

Supply Chain Analytics: Blockchain can be used to store data on supply chain activities, which can be analyzed to improve supply chain performance and gain insights into customer needs and market trends.

Intellectual Property Protection: Blockchain can be used to store and share information about intellectual property rights, such as patents and trademarks, enabling companies to better protect their intellectual property.

Spend Management: Blockchain can be used to manage and track procurement spending, providing real-time visibility into spending patterns and enabling better cost management.

Supplier Management: Blockchain can be used to store and share information about suppliers, such as their performance history and compliance records, enabling companies to better manage their supplier relationships.

VeChain is a blockchain-based platform that focuses on supply chain management and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The platform uses a combination of smart contracts and IoT technology to create a tamper-proof record of transactions, enabling real-time tracking and monitoring of goods as they move through the supply chain.

VeChain's platform includes a number of built-in features and tools that are specifically designed to support supply chain management and IoT applications. For example, VeChain uses RFID tags and QR codes to track and identify products, and it also includes an application programming interface (API) that allows developers to create their own supply chain management solutions on top of the platform.

Some of the use cases of VeChain includes, but not limited to:

Product traceability, which allows manufacturers and retailers to track products throughout the supply chain

Cold Chain Logistics, which allows for the tracking and monitoring of temperature-sensitive products such as food and medicine

Luxury goods authentication, which helps to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods

Supply Chain Financing, which enables suppliers to receive financing from multiple sources and investors to invest in supply chain assets with low-cost, low-risk, and high returns

Supply Chain Analytics, which allows for the collection and analysis of data on supply chain activities to improve supply chain performance and gain insights into customer needs and market trends.

VeChain has also been actively partnering with various industries, such as logistics, automobile, luxury goods, and retail to provide solutions that are tailored to their needs, by using VeChain's technology.

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About the Creator

Sendil Arasu Vijaya Kumar

I attained bachelor degree in mechanical engineering and master degree in marketing management, having 21 Years of professional work experience. International exposure in Supply Chain Procurement domain. Author of "The Procurement Acumen"

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Comments (1)

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  • Prabhakar Sivalingam3 years ago

    I am excited to see this block chain technology revolution in supply chain and i believe it would pave way to new era of digital traceability. Very interesting article. Keep going !

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