ProMat panel hits on blockchain’s power & pitfalls

Blockchain is already here and growing for supply chains, but it will take time for its full potential to take shape, presenters at Monday keynote said, including Karim R. Lakhani of Harvard Business School, who led off the session with insights on blockchain, followed by a panel discussion.

Lakhani acknowledged there has been plenty of “frothy” discussion and hype around blockchain, but its characteristics as a distributed digital ledger are well suited to multiple industry applications, especially in supply chains. He explained elements like its irreversibility, distributed nature, and ability to program around it “creates a brand new architecture for business transactions” that will eventually transform operations and business models.

The catch, says Lakhani, is that blockchain uptake and value realization “is going to take a long time,” much like with the many years it took computing to build off the potential of the TCP/IP communications protocol. In 10 years, however, it’s expected that around 10% of gross domestic product will be on blockchain, Lakhani said.
Panelists included David Cecchi, senior director of enterprise data at Cargill; Michael J Reed, director of the blockchain program at Intel; and Leanne Kemp, Queensland Chief Entrepreneur and C3PO First, CEO, founder of Everledger, which is applying blockchain to the diamond industry.

During the panel, Cecchi said Cargill is applying blockchain technology to traceability of turkey products. The company believes in the technology, Cecchi said, though he added there can be “lack of understanding of the implications” of blockchain. For one thing, the ledger technology records and stores transactions reliably, but doesn’t ensure “truth” in supply chain processes.

Truth requires the correct “rules” be ingrained in a blockchain by the business partners or marketplace involved, said Cecchi. “You can still write the wrong stuff down” in a blockchain world, he advised.

ProMat 2019 is taking place this week at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The tradeshow showcases the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry. For complete coverage of the show, click here.