Need to track high value assets through the supply chain? IBM has a thing for that.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM is rolling out its Blockchain tool beyond it’s established financial market.
Blockchain is a tool that creates an encrypted ledger of transactions. Once an item is added to the ledger it’s extremely difficult to change or remove it. This means it’s ideally positioned for use in monitoring transactional data, such as parts/assets. It records its data in the cloud and doesn’t need a central authority.
Certain industries, such as health care and aviation have a distinct need to for part traceability and tracking.
On 14th July 2016, IBM released a version for test. The WSJ states
While firms such as Nasdaq Inc., Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are experimenting with blockchain, only a handful of companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., have explored using it to monitor their supply chains.
The technology has already been used to track high value goods like Diamonds from mine to store.
I’m particularly excited about the opportunities that technology like this offers to industry like aerospace. The need for part traceability, first article inspection reports, source records lends itself nicely to tools such as these and I can see tools like these offering significant efficiency.
Click here to read the piece.