There is “no doubt that blockchain technology is here to stay,” says IBM’s Tatjana Meier.
Tatjana, Blockchain Practice Leader at IBM Services Switzerland, admits that it’s still early days for the technology. But she is confident it will prove beneficial for businesses and consumers alike and “can do a lot of good.”
She is particularly excited about the value blockchain brings to supply chain management. Traditionally, she explains, “you only have information one tier back, but you don’t have the visibility along the supply chain.”
This is not the case when companies use blockchains. Blockchains helps participants record price, quality, and other relevant information to help manage a supply chain. This improves the traceability and sustainability of products by making it easier for companies to detect unethical suppliers or counterfeit products.
During a panel discussion at CoinGeek Zurich, Tatjana argued that this will ease regulatory and consumer pressure. On this week’s episode of CoinGeek Conversations, she explained further, citing a new law on human rights in supply chains that has recently been adopted by the German Parliament.
The law will require large companies to regularly identify and address human rights and environmental concerns in their supply chains. Businesses will be expected to publish reports outlining what they are doing to tackle any risks and are liable to fines if they do not show that they have addressed abuses.
The immutability of blockchain will make it much easier for companies to do their due diligence, says Tatjana. Indeed, the transparency of the technology has even earned it the nickname of the ‘trust machine’ from the Economist.
This transparency will allow big companies to win points with increasingly ethically aware customers, as well as regulators.