BLOCKCHAIN : THE NEXT DIGITAL REVOLUTION
WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN ?
In a nutshell, experts say that the Blockchain is the internet of value. If Internet lets us share the content of a document through a copy sent over the network (you keep the original with you), the Blockchain allows to transfer the original, thus value. The ownership or the value of something (the “original”, not a copy, not a fake) can be transferred between “people” (B2B, B2C) in a safe environment.
For example, the Blockchain can support the payment of a good, without the necessity of a bank between the seller and the buyer, with the full trust for both parts that the money transfer is of good faith, and is achieved.
The Blockchain can as well store a property title of a real estate, and track and trace its transfer from a seller to a buyer, without a notary. Through the Blockchain, the new owner is able to prove its property.
The Blockchain can safeguard the intellectual property of an idea, a new product design etc, without a third-part storing it. Any one interested in the idea, the new product design can easily find the owner. Nobody can takeover the ownership, or claim he “invented” it before, as all transactions are time-stamped.
The nature of what can be shared on the Blockchain is almost infinite : payment datas, personal identity, property information but also delivery information, origin of production, quality datas, contractual clauses and the list is far from being exhaustive. This opens a really wide range of operations that in the future could be done without any “middlemen”, who increase costs, delays and complexity of processes.
BLOCKCHAIN : A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER
If we look at Wikipedia the Blockchain is defined as "...a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, secured from tampering and revision”.
Jon-Amerin Vorabutra on the blog of Loaddelivered (1) completes the definition saying that “while the users may access, inspect, or add to the data, they can’t change or delete it. The original information stays put, leaving a permanent and public information trail, or chain, of transactions”.
The Blockchain is per nature a decentralized system. It is not based on any central nodal. It is a “peer-to-peer” based system.
This guarantees a free equal access to many different parts, although those parts seem not have the same target (a client and its vendor for example).
Another definition of the Blockchain, is set by Charles Asmiller on its blog on the Apterra website (2) : “The Blockchain works as a big interactive spread sheet that everyone can access and update. It is owned and monitored by everyone but controlled by no one.”
Charles Asmiller draws the main advantages of the Blockchain as : “Transparency, safety of the transactions, easy verification of where a product comes from. It helps business to make better informed decisions by improving visibility”.
Want to know more about the Blockchain ? Please browse our other articles on this Blog.
KEY WORDS TO REMEMBER : Decentralized - Transparency
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References of this article
(1)https://www.loaddelivered.com/blog/why-blockchain-is-a-game-changer-for-supply-chain-management/by Jon Amerin Vorabutra
(2) https://appterra.com/uncategorized/blockchain-the-next-big-thing-in-the-supply-chain/ by Charles Asmiller
