A popular conception is that blockchain is the perfect solution for supply chain.
However, we’ll see here that there are quite a few caveats when using blockchain to solve supply chain.
One problem that the world faces today is the use of diamonds to fund rebel groups against governments.
Such diamonds are referred to as conflict diamonds, or “blood diamonds.” The Kimberley Process is a governmental effort requiring participants to certify the origin of their diamond.
However, there are some potential issues with the system, which include corrupt officials taking bribes to validate or sign certifications, and the masking of actual trails by complex supply chains.
Everledger was created to solve this problem using blockchain technology, specifically leveraging Hyperledger.
This company tokenizes every diamond and tracks its movement on the blockchain as individuals trade.
At any point in time, someone can cross-reference the blockchain to see the diamond’s path from mining to current product.
There are some caveats however , which include the issue of representing real world data on the blockchain.
We have to trust that individuals are not bribed to include false information in the blockchain, and we also have to trust that the identifier of the diamond was not tampered with in the process.