Blockchain technology in logistics software development. What are key features, characteristics, and use cases?

A wide range of digital technologies reshapes the logistics making blockchain-based solutions overriding priorities for most business companies and organizations. Being decentralized, distributed technology that was built to alter business operations, a blockchain-powered approach is raised as the next big thing for the logistics.

We live in a world that has an ever-growing need for improved efficiency. Logistics, in particular, requires a protected and reliable flow as well as the complex information flow and financial transactions that can be achieved in combination with fast, efficient processes and relevant data integration.

Blockchain-powered business solution can potentially help to overcome these go-slows and realize substantial gains in logistics. Creating a single source of truth, it also enables transparency-based data, access among relevant stakeholders.

Major factors that drive logistics

Consumer demand. Currently, individual consumers and industrial customers expect to get shipments faster, more flexible, and in a transparency-based way.

Tech boom. Tech breakthroughs change every aspect of the way how logistics businesses operate in order to deliver truly dynamic tech routing.

Global markets. Global markets growth will depend on increasing demand for traded goods in combination with infrastructure development.

Talent. With increasingly growing logistics footprints, there is a great need for companies to hire more experienced employees in export compliance, government agency requirements and customs brokerage.

Blockchain potential in logistics

Below you can see some significant use cases for blockchain-based solutions in logistics:

• Faster, leaner logistics in global trade. Blockchain-powered tech solution reduce some dissidents in transportation management, track&trace, customs collaboration, trade finance transactions and optimize the cost/time in documentation and administrative processing.
• Smart contracts automate commercial processes in logistics. Blockchain-based solutions increase the efficiency of the entire logistics and settlement process including trade finance transactions. This helps to resolve disputes. Digitized documents and real-time shipment data become embedded in blockchain-based systems, enable smart contracts to be automated.
• Enhancing supply chain transparency&traceability. Using blockchain-based tech solution helps to improve transparency and monitor the source by collecting data about how goods are made, from where they deliver, how they are managed. These data become permanent, easily shared that offers the major industry players more holistic track-and-trace capabilities.

Beneficial characteristics of blockchain in logistics

Blockchain-powered solution has the expertise for improving the transparency-based approach and offers a wide range of potential benefits. Below you can see them:

• Increase material traceability to ensure corporate standards are met.
• Lower losses from counterfeit/gray market trading.
• Improve visibility and compliance over outsourced contract manufacturing.
• Eliminate mundane and repetitive paperwork, reduce administrative costs.
• Strengthen corporate reputation by providing transparency-based materials used in products.
• Enhance credibility and public trust of data shared.
• Reduce potential public relations risk from supply chain malpractice.
• Engage stakeholders.

Also, you can read: How to build Blockchain App

The key steps of blockchain adoption in the logistics industry

To get started with an idea and bring it to a scalable solution, companies can follow the steps shown:

1. Create a strategy. Setting the vision of how blockchain can support the challenges or opportunities in the logistics business.

2. Plan & Develop. Specific niches in business for blockchain-based tech solution implementation should be determined in order to develop the plan to execute PoC(s) on high-efficient areas and opportunities.

3. Proof of concept (PoC). Stakeholders should learn all the tech nuances in the proposed tech solution with a focus on a selected use case. Learnings from PoC phase should be incorporated into the pilot.

4. Piloting. All stakeholders should be engaged in the digital solution testing process on a small scale while completing a high-level assessment of roll out at scale.

5. Scale. End-to-end implementation of a blockchain-based solution for targeted business challenges, aligned to strategy.

6. Expand manage. Requires a significant transformation of business processes across internal parties and multiple stakeholders. This implies the additional business models expansion within the platform and deployment of ongoing improvements.

Also, you can read: Top 10 Blockchain Startups that boomed in 2017

Drawing a line

Blockchain-based solutions are emerging from their first deployments in cryptocurrency and have a significant impact on almost all industries. This technology is beginning to expand outwards in all directions including the logistics, where blockchain gives an upbeat promise to make business processes efficiency-based, simplifies innovative new services and business models.

Moving from today’s era of proving concepts and piloting applications to actually deploying productive solutions at scale will require further technology development, organizational transformation and, crucially, collaboration. DDI Development team has a vast experience in building a blockchain-based solution and is ready to turn your idea into an excellent solution.