TECH & AI
Blockchain technology looks poised to revolutionise supply chain management , offering unprecedented levels of transparency , traceability and efficiency .
At its core , blockchain involves distributed databases that hold tamper -proof records of digital transactions , making it particularly well-suited for application in the procurement and supply chain space .
“ Because they are essentially a transaction-based technology , blockchain technologies are ideally placed to be leveraged in procurement ,” explains Simon Thompson , VP Sales Northern Europe at JAGGAER , the enterprise procurement and supplier collaboration specialist .
“ Specifically , blockchain could completely reshape supply chain and source-to-pay ( S2P ) process efficiency , supporting automation and traceability .”
One application of blockchain already gaining traction is smart contracts – strings of code that sit within an individual block on a blockchain and automate actions where predetermined conditions are met .
CPOs can thus define rules around a transaction so that certain conditions and obligations are enforced .
“ Each step of the supply chain that produces a new line of data can be automated to ensure full traceability throughout the supply chain ,” Simon adds . supplychaindigital . com 151