Thanks to blockchain technology, co-developed by IBM, retail giant Walmart can now ensure the traceability of their products, including pork imported from China. This rising traceability trend is expected to grow substantially in the coming years. So how might that boost your business, exactly?     

Cryptocurrency. One word and you’re all ears! Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, allows users to transmit information that’s grouped into a series of blocks. Essentially, it’s a distributed ledger that can efficiently record transactions between two parties in a verifiable and permanent way.     

Each block of data is connected to the block that precedes it, as well as the block that follows, rendering the chain immutable. All the blocks are interconnected, making it virtually impossible to tamper with them, i.e. by inserting data between blocks. Overall it’s a complex concept, so let us break it down for you. 

Picture a notebook—say, a public ledger—whose pages have been blacked out with indelible ink and are impossible to tear out or falsify. In a blockchain, this notebook is duplicated thousands of times over. As soon as new information is added to the original notebook, all the other entries are automatically updated in real time. This shareable “digital ledger” is incorruptible and allows users to carry out countless transactions—think payments, filing legal contracts and managing loans.

All the transactions that occur within a blockchain are signed, dated, certified and easily traceable. These characteristics make blockchains coveted assets in the 4.0 industry, a concept to consider when it comes to things like connected objects and artificial intelligence. Although this revolutionary technology is still a work in progress (another year or two is needed before we’ll fully comprehend the impact blockchain will have on a company’s ROI), it definitely has the potential to help businesses of all sizes become more agile. Here are five ways blockchain can boost your business.  

1- Better traceability

A business must be able to deconstruct the production line that brings their products from mere idea to market. Logging the journey by way of an encrypted ledger translates into better traceability for manufacturers. Blockchain technology allows companies to follow a product every step of the way: from procurement, to production, and finally to distribution. That’s useful for a food manufacturer that needs its cooling chain to remain compliant, for instance.

2- Secure payment settlement

Blockchains can ensure the veracity and integrity of monetary and financial transactions carried out online. Beyond settling any payments, blockchain technology can also be useful when it comes to efficiently managing related processes, too. Example: your delivery is late and you want to receive an automatic reimbursement and avoid going through all the hassle you’d normally be confronted with before getting your money back. You could have these instructions coded into the blockchain contract to do just that. 

3- Reduced exposure to digital fraud

Blockchains eliminate the need for middlemen, which means reduced vulnerability to piracy, corruption and human error. A cloud storage solution using blockchain technology will decrease the risk of cyber attacks resulting in systemic damages and generalized data loss. What if you could secure your employees’ email and social media usage? Some companies offer innovative blockchain technology solutions to limit the risk of identity theft, too.

4- More efficient transactions

If your company offers a consumer financing solution—in the furniture industry, for instance—blockchains could mean more efficient credit check processing on your end. A credit check that’s made without an intermediary and based on an encrypted ledger could go through more quickly and end up costing you less.

Another idea—blockchain-based apps are also useful in real estate. They can help agents and notaries record, follow-up on, and transfer property titles, on top of guaranteeing that all the required documentation is properly filled out and verifiable for the next step of the transaction. 

5- Streamlined hiring process

The talent shortage hitting certain industries is requiring HR managers to step up and improve their recruitment and employee retention processes. A blockchain-based candidate bank is a streamlined solution when it comes to checking references, for example.