Deloitte has released a new insight report exploring the potential of blockchain to transform the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) value chain — insisting that those who do not consider it are at risk of “falling behind”.
The report, based on discussions with retail and CPG executives, states that the future of the industries will be starkly different from the present — with industry operators needing to offer increasingly on-demand and personalized services to meet changing consumer demands.
Predicting a growth in interest over the next two to three years, Deloitte expects a “tipping point” within the next five years as businesses begin to understand the potential held by blockchain and utilize it within their operations — resulting in a more wide-spread adoption of the technology following a period of trials and pilots.
Deloitte also claims that it will be the early adopters of the technology who will generate the most value for the business, rather than those who risk “falling behind” by ignoring the potential.
Read Wolfgang Lehmacher's of the World Economic Forum latest technical paper — Ports for Tomorrow: Smart Links in Supply Chains
Within the report three use-case groups are proposed which help distinguish the reasons behind implementing blockchain — the Consumer (for improving and protecting the consumer experience), the Supply-chain (for improving process efficiencies across the supply chain), and Payments and Contracts (for improving transaction processes and ensuring the validity and implementation of contracts).
In the final chapter of the report, “Responding to blockchain”, a number of next steps that organizations are likely to take towards implementing the technology are outlined — including focusing development resources on use-cases, pushing for standardization in the technology and business processes using blockchain, and working towards integrating blockchains into a value chain.
The full report can be downloaded from Deloitte’s website.
