- Supply chain tracking and increased security in financial transactions are just some examples of how this technology is being applied in businesses.
- Sectors as diverse as industry, logistics and food are some of those that benefit from the unique features of blockchain technology.
Blockchain: what is it?
If we are asked what blockchain is, we could briefly answer that it is a decentralised transaction record and asset tracking system where information can be included but not deleted.
This storage is replicated in each node of the network after consensus is reached.
How do companies use blockchain?
The use of blockchain technology in the business world offers a number of benefits.
What are the advantages of blockchain for the business sector?
Thanks to the traceability that characterises blockchain, the set of transactions that accumulate makes it possible to reconstruct the events that have taken place.
Likewise, the elimination of intermediaries in processes also allows for a reduction in both costs and time.
Similarly, another beneficial feature for companies is that the authorship and integrity of the information generated and transmitted can be verified.
What are the applications of blockchain in companies?
The main uses of blockchain technology in the business world relate to different issues.
On the one hand, the product supply chain—each sector will have its own particularities depending on its nature—will have information that allows products to be traced directly from their origin to their final destination. In this way, the quality and authenticity of the products is more than guaranteed.
On the other hand, from a financial perspective, transactions can be carried out more quickly and efficiently, while also minimising the chances of any type of fraud. Similarly, international transactions can be simplified.
Another aspect that benefits from blockchain technology in the business world is digital identity. Thanks to an immutable and reliable record, companies can control their staff’s personal information in a decentralised and secure manner, increasing not only privacy but also improving ease of use, as users decide what data to share.
As an indirect consequence of the traceability of processes—manufacturing, distribution, etc.—sustainability can also benefit, as it is easier to verify that the entire supply chain complies with the relevant environmental and social regulations.
Related to this issue, it can also help consumers who want to know about certain environmental issues whose standards are above the legal thresholds but which may be of interest to them when deciding whether to purchase one product or another.
Blockchain solutions and examples for businesses
Blockchain solutions for businesses are focused on eliminating the intermediaries that have historically been needed to execute transactions and include the applications we have seen throughout this article.
The food sector, for example, can benefit from this technology by being able to provide guarantees of origin, organic certificates for foods that must have them, or food traceability, understood as the tracking of all stages of the supply chain of the food in question.
The industrial sector can also benefit from this technology by enabling quality controls in processes, providing traceability during the manufacture or production of products, and ensuring the integrity and security of digital twins.
Another sector that can benefit from blockchain is logistics. Having access to information related to the supply chain (or the cold chain, if relevant to the distribution of the product in question) can help make transactions more transparent and free from manipulation, improving traceability, security and efficiency.
It should be noted, however, that the advantages of blockchain for the business world listed throughout this article are not without a number of challenges, such as scalability, implementation costs and interoperability with existing systems.
