Just like it happened to me until recently, you may have already heard of bitcoins, but you had never stopped to understand the whole structure behind this virtual currency. Bitcoin is the name given to a cryptocurrency generated via the internet, which, like the dollar, euro or real, has a quotation on the market. Due to its new nature, the bitcoin price is less stable than other traditional currencies. However, it is possible to identify a growing appreciation of bitcoin, which on 04/08/2017, for example, it was equivalent to 2.866,21 dollars.
To support all currency transactions and make the process safe, efficient and cheap, there is the blockchain (or chain of blocks), and this is what many are betting on to revolutionize the Supply Chain Management. As explained by Fernando Ulrich, on the InfoMoney website, the solution found by Bitcoin to prevent double spending and avoid fraud consists in grouping the last network transactions in a kind of “block”, which contains a reference to the immediately previous block. New transactions are registered in the system, repeating the same process, thus forming a “chain of blocks” in chronological order, the reason for the denomination blockchain. This mechanism works because all transactions are public (although the transacting parties are not known), being validated and registered by any user (known as miners), increasing the chain as more blocks are added.
O blockchain it is therefore a record in chronological order of all transactions that have taken place on the network and have been compiled and validated by miners. O blockchain it is public, unique, replicated and shared by system participants. Its maintenance and updating occur in a decentralized and voluntary manner, with the issuance of new bitcoins being the incentive given to those who dedicate themselves to the mining task.
Despite still being heavily linked to Bitcoin, the blockchain it can be used for several other purposes, which is why it has been attracting the interest of large companies, such as Walmart. In 2016, the retailer was involved in problems with food contaminated by salmonella and saw in the blockchain an opportunity to identify the origin of spoiled products. Maersk, a large global logistics operator, has been testing the blockchain to guarantee the authenticity of the dozens of certificates and documents attached to each of its transported cargo. Mining giant BHP Billiton, meanwhile, is using the technology to track mineral analysis done by outside vendors.
In general, companies have sought this technology to better monitor the movement of goods and information in the chain and improve the use of resources. A key advantage of this distributed system, where no single company has control, is that it resolves disclosure and accountability issues between individuals and institutions whose interests are not necessarily aligned. By not requiring intermediaries between operations, another great advantage of blockchain it is the dynamism he guarantees for the chain.
While in Bitcoin the structure is open and extremely decentralized, so that anyone can study the protocols and join the network, companies like IBM, Microsoft and several startups are building their own systems, signaling a race for leadership in technology. In addition to the time required to arrive at an industry standard and agreement on best practices, some hurdles still need to be overcome to see the blockchain proliferate across supply chains.
First, business leaders and organizations will need to be open to sharing information that is often treated as confidential with partners who will be invisible on the web. Furthermore, issues related to global governance are also an obstacle to be overcome, since there will be both free protocols and closed protocols, which will require agreements and standards to guarantee the compatibility of the blocks. Reconciling a complex set of regulations, maritime laws and commercial codes that govern the property rights and possession of goods around the world with this digital, dematerialized, automated and denationalized nature of the blockchain does not seem to be a trivial task either.
Because it is a complex technology and involves important transactions, it is to be expected that it will still take some years to see the blockchain fully disseminated among the main business chains in the world. However, everything indicates that it is a matter of time, not potential.
References
<https://foxbit.com.br/blog/o-que-e-bitcoin/>
<http://www.infomoney.com.br/blogs/cambio/moeda-na-era-digital/post/4020628/bitcoin-blockchain>
<https://hbr.org/2017/03/global-supply-chains-are-about-to-get-better-thanks-to-blockchain>
Fernanda Monteiro
More than 11 years of experience in training and consultancy projects, focusing on Logistics and Supply Chain. In consultancy, he carried out projects such as Transformational Logistics Plan, Diagnosis of logistics operations, Strategy and Calendarization of Transport Operations, Measuring the Cost of Serving, Market Study, Mapping of Inventory Reduction Opportunities, Review of the S&OP Process, Management Plan Training and Implementation of Commercial Processes in companies such as Nestlé, Raia Drogasil, Ipiranga, Lojas Americanas, B2W, Coca-Cola, Andina, Embraco, Martins Atacado, Loja do Mecânico, Santo Antônio Energia, Ecoporto and Silimed. She is currently one of the teachers of the Inventory Management Course taught every six months by ILOS. She worked on the development and management of Online Courses in Logistics and Supply Chain, Supply Processes, Demand Planning, Inventory Management and Industrial Management. Still in the training area, she was responsible for applying ILOS business games in companies such as Raia Drogasil, Fibria, NEC, Novartis and Moove.
