Why Blockchains Struggle to Gain Traction in Enterprises

gepubliceerd op by Coindesk | gepubliceerd op

The Y2K program came about because software developers assumed, in the early days of computing, that newer, better enterprise systems would come along very soon and that their efficient two-digit date systems would be replaced long before the year 2000 came along.

As a result, risk management in large enterprises means that we can't drop in blockchain technology wherever we see a good application.

When it comes to deploying blockchains in the enterprise, this means that some things that seem like obvious applications aren't necessarily going to get traction.

The most typical blockchain solution that doesn't gain traction even though, on the surface, it seems like a great idea, is supplier collaboration.

Blockchains are ideal for complex, multi-party solutions.

Unloading raw materials off a truck? You can "Receive" goods easily and because the trucking system and the enterprise are usually not linked, there's no single system that demands you off-load raw materials from a truck if you want to put them in a warehouse.

These systems can't usually see past one tier back in the supply chain, so a factory fire or a big shipping delay two tiers back won't be visible until it's too late to properly react.

As a consequence, while we are building supply chain collaboration and integration systems, my expectations about where and when we can push a blockchain solution forward are somewhat different.

Businesses are seeking more procurement solutions where the ROI is particularly large and measurable or those scenarios where operational success in the supply chain depends heavily on actions that take multiple tiers out of the supply chain.

I believe blockchains will eventually become the standard mechanism by which companies interact with each other, covering everything from the business agreement to the tokenization of products and services, delivery and supply chain tracking and integrated payments.

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