Blockchain to the rescue: Applied to food supply chain

 

Blockchain’s uses are applicable across industries. These may be in operational areas and mission-critical. One aspect of this, which is beneficial, is the blockchain cannot be changed. This also allows for the transactions to have an audit trail and the ability to trace the transactions back. One common use case for this is the supply chain. A very simple example of this would be a business baking cakes. For a certain batch, the compliance department needs to know from which companies the flour was sourced, and where the flour was processed. Without the blockchain tracing this in a permanent format, the operations manager would need to go to accounting, ask a few questions, accounting would need to look through the general ledger and sub-ledger, seeking the entries for the flour. The accounting or operations may then need to make a judgment call, based on timing, who may have sold the specific flour used. In certain instances, the business does not want to make a decision based on judgment or guesses, but on clear facts. Using the former tends to be very messy and creates yet more problems.

One of the industries where tracing the products and services is critical would be defense contracting. The products, parts, and equipment that are part of the larger equipment are required to be sourced from reputable, approved sources. These products are highly technical and work with confidential data. These may not leak or otherwise divulge the subject data.

One business using blockchain for this function is Thales. Thales is a French aerospace and defense contractor. Recently, the business opened a new production and maintenance site in Spain. This site is using blockchain to trace all the parts and products moving through the facility. While this is prudent, especially given the industry, this also works to comply with NATO and other Ministries of Defense requirements. This facility manufactures several types of sensitive equipment, including radio communications, aeronautics, and naval equipment. With this equipment, the ability to trace the components from the supply chain is paramount. Any part from a suspect supplier would have detrimental effects.