Читать книгу Blockchain Data Analytics For Dummies - Michael G. Solomon - Страница 50

A classic blockchain use case is a supply chain app, which manages a product from its production all the way through its consumption. The beginning of the supply chain is when a product is manufactured, harvested, caught, or otherwise provisioned to send to an eventual customer. The supply chain app then tracks and manages each transfer of ownership as the product makes its way to the physical location where the consumer purchases it.

Supply chain apps manage product movement, process payment at each stage in the movement life cycle, and create an audit trail that can be used to investigate the actions of each owner along the supply chain. Blockchain technology is well suited to support the transfer of ownership and maintain an indelible record of each step in the process.

Many supply chains are complex and consist of multiple organizations. In such cases, data suffers as it is exported from one participant, transmitted to the next participant, and then imported into their data system. A single blockchain would simplify the export/transport/import cycle and auditing. An additional benefit of blockchain technology in supply chain apps is the ease with which a product’s provenance (a trace of owners back to its origin) is readily available.

Many of today’s supply chains are made up of several enterprises that enter into agreements to work together for mutual benefit. Although the participants in a supply chain are business partners, they do not fully trust one another. A blockchain can provide the level of transactional and data trust that the enterprises need. The best solution is a semi-private blockchain — that is, the blockchain is public for supply chain participants but not to anyone else. This type of blockchain (one that is owned by a group of entities) is called a hybrid, or consortium, blockchain. The participants jointly own the blockchain and agree on policies to govern access.