Top-10 Industries Being Transformed by Blockchain
- by 7wData
After struggling to receive recognition of legitimacy within the mainstream zeitgeist during its sophomoric years, distributed ledger technology (DLT) now comprises the driving force behind a new wave of technological creative destruction. Today, we are going to take a look at some of the industries and processes that are most dramatically undergoing a transformation in response to the advent of blockchain technology.
The opaque nature of global supply chains poses a significant challenge to efforts to ensure that the commodities, labor and inputs required to produce goods are from a safe and ethical origin. In order to tackle these issues, an increasing number of companies are exploring blockchain-based solutions.
On June 25, Walmart China announced plans for the movement of food products throughout its supply chain using the “Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform,” which was built on VeChain’s Thor blockchain.
Announced at the Traceability System Construction Seminar during the 2019 China Products Safety Publicity Week in Beijing, Walmart China indicated that “23 product lines” have been test-launched on the platform, with a further “100 product lines” spanning 10 different product categories expected to be incorporated onto the platform before the end of the year. Walmart China anticipates that 50% of its total sales of packaged meat will comprise products tracked using its traceability platform, in addition to 40% of its total sales of packaged vegetables and 12.5% of its total seafood sales by 2021.
The platform will also allow Walmart China customers to acquire detailed information pertaining to the production for a specific item by scanning the barcode of the product with their smartphone. Among the information that will be made available to consumers are facts about a product’s source, geographic location, logistics process and Walmart China’s product inspection report.
During the announcement, Walmart China representatives spoke of the possibility for distributed ledger technology to ensure the quality and safety of edible agricultural produce and to bolster consumer confidence through enhancing supply chain transparency, in addition to facilitating significant efficiency savings in production.
Across the pond, Walmart recently announced a collaborative endeavor alongside the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), IBM, Merck and KPMG to develop a proof-of-concept blockchain for the purpose of tracking prescription drugs.
On June 27, U.S.-based snack food company Brimhall Foods announced a partnership with Surge Holdings to deliver Brim’s products via a distributed ledger-based ordering system, with the company claiming that SurgePay’s blockchain network will allow it to access tens of thousands of new retailers.
In 2003, a United Nations General Assembly Resolution established the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which sought to increase transparency in the diamond industry and inhibit the circulation of “blood diamonds” — i.e., diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance insurgency or the activities of warlords.
Despite the KPCS seeing adoption among more than 80 countries since its establishment, the scheme has received significant criticism for failing to achieve its aims. In December 2011, nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Witness abandoned the KPCS, following the scheme’s endorsement of unlimited diamond exports in Zimbabwe.
In May 2015, Australian entrepreneur Leanne Kemp founded Everledger — a digital registry for diamonds powered by the IBM Blockchain Platform. The mission of the registry is for Everledger to assess the diamonds using grading reports provided by the Gemological Institute of America.
In 2018, De Beers Group, an international corporation that mines and trades diamonds, announced that it would develop a blockchain-based traceability platform.
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