How Could the Key Capabilities of Blockchain Bring Amplified Performance of Supply Chain Market Worldwide?

Unlike traditional supply chains, today’s supply chains are connected to global networks. A particular supply chain includes suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, logistics companies, and various other peripheral workers, who work and coordinate things together to deliver products to the customers in a hassle-free manner. Traditionally, the supply chains used to do paper-based work and used disjointed data systems, which led to cause delays, errors, difficulties in tracking products, consuming more time, and also additional costs. However, blockchain technology improvises the end-to-end visibility and helps blockchain technology to enhance the track and trace of the entire process with increased automation efficiency. Before heading towards the numerous benefits of blockchain in the supply chain, let’s begin with the fundamentals first.

What is Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain is a virtual record-keeping technology, which is primarily designed for the transactions of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It has been recently realized that it has huge potential and can act as a game-changer for the financial world. With blockchain technology, data can be recorded, stored on a public ledger where these data are not immutable and are strictly encrypted. As the transactions and ledgers are encrypted, blockchain technology provides more security than the banking model. Moreover, the process of transaction is instant as it does not involve any third party, rather facilitates the end-to-end transaction.

Why is Blockchain Important for Supply Chain Market?

As the supply chain contains complex networks of suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and consumers, maintaining a clean record of everything is quite tiresome and mismanaged with pen and paper. Therefore, blockchain technology with enhanced IT infrastructure and automation provides auditors and managers greater visibility of every participant across the chain with greater clarity and transparency. There are a plethora of advantages of blockchain technology in the supply chain, some of them are listed below:

• Replacing Manual Processes with Automation: Presently, handling large, complex datasets is easily managed with blockchain technology unlikely paper-based supply chains. Moreover, it enables tracking things faster than previously and saves time.
   
• Reducing Transaction Costs: With the use of blockchain technology, due to the connected nodes or blocks, there is a lowering in the search and information costs, which is actually possible due to the shared ledger. By using the same smart contract by every owned entity over the network, the enforcement of rules is automatically checked and hence, helps in reducing the policing and enforcement and transaction costs.
   
• Enhancing Traceability: Blockchain helps add value to the products in the supply chain by checking quality, recalling dates of delivery, protecting reputational damage, preventing loss of revenue from black or grey market products, and many more functionalities.
   
• Increasing Trust: By using blockchain technology, there are no chances of data alteration. It assures you receive accurate and timely data by maintaining the optimum privacy it is shared between the members of the member-only network.
   
• Greater Efficiency- Blockchain technology enables members to maintain records by minimizing human errors and elevates the efficiency of product delivery and payments on time.  

What are the Major Factors Augmenting the Future of Blockchain in Supplychain Market?

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, initially, the blockchain in the supply chain market has collapsed due to the disruption caused between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and the retail industry. However, the sudden surge in the e-commerce segments and the adaptation of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) across various industries are expected to fuel the implementation of blockchain in the supply chain across several small and medium enterprises.

Furthermore, the increasing demand for blockchain in the supply chain is expected to bolster the growth of the global blockchain in the supply chain market and is predicted to garner $14,884.4 million in revenue during the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. As there are number of challenges before the supply chain market such as lowering prices, fast processing, and continual monitoring and checking of product flow and quality respectively is further expected to uplift the incorporation of blockchain technology in the supply chain market. Besides, the growing need for automation supply across the supply chain industry is the major factor expected to fortify the growth of the blockchain in the supply chain market in the near future. However, the lack of awareness among the regulatory agencies may impede the growth of the market.

Additionally, the continuous integration approaches and automatic application arrangement are projected to agile the growth of the market in the upcoming days. The growing need for product traceability, quality, and on-time distribution of products with greater transparency are the vital factors expected to amplify the growth of the blockchain in the supply chain, specifically in the retail industry. If we talk about the region-wise market growth, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to dominate the market and is anticipated to generate a revenue of $4,063.4 million and rise at a noteworthy CAGR of 58.2% by 2028.

The Future Mirror of Blockchain in Supply Chains

With the capabilities of monitoring thousands of applications running for performing millions of transactions instantly and securely, blockchain is possessing higher demands of implementation in today’s and the future’s supply chain market. Further, the potential of blockchain to create cost-saving efficiencies, and magnify the consumers’ trust and experience with transparency and traceability is expected to bring enormous growth opportunities for the blockchain in the supply chain market in coming years.

About the Author(s)

     

Rosy Behera

Rosy Behera holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and is currently working as a content writing professional. She loves to portray her thoughts and ideas via her command on words. Grabbing her audience’s attention with her creative write ups is one of her biggest assets. Apart from writing, she is a certified “Odisi” dancer and has done Gardharva in Drawing, Painting and Arts. She always explores new things through travel and is a big foodie.