Deloitte Reports, Big Changes are Coming Soon to Retail with Blockchain Solutions
‘Big Four’ auditing firm Deloitte has released a report that suggests big changes are set to “revolutionise” consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail with blockchain technology solutions.
Entitled “New tech on the block“, the report studied 50 blockchain use cases covering the breadth of the retail and CPG markets, across general categories of business: consumer, supply-chain and payments and contracts.
In a press release, Technology consulting partner at Deloitte, Steve Larke said:
“As we enter the ‘age of blockchain’, the retail and CPG sectors are particularly well placed to capitalise on this technology and revolutionise the way many processes are conducted.”
The report revealed that blockchain has the potential to exponentially transform the supply chain, and significantly improve traceability, compliance, flexibility and stakeholder management. However, Larke highlighted that:
“It is crucial for decision makers to understand which areas of the value chain will benefit most from the new technology, and how easy it is to implement.”
Researching numerous possibilities for the industries, the report sighted the number one opportunity for businesses to be a ‘know your supplier’ solution, allowing payments and contracts to be executed at the point of fulfilment.
Ranking the use cases based on their impact and complexity, although more complex to implement, the report suggested a ‘Connected Supply Chain’, providing a seamless end-to-end ledger from manufacturing to fulfilment, could carry huge value opportunities.
Larke noted that blockchain technology, with its ability to authenticate, track and record transactions, is the “next big thing” for retailers and consumer businesses and he stated that:
“Blockchain technology is expected to achieve widespread, mainstream adoption sooner rather than later.”
There are already a number of companies trialling blockchain supply chain solutions, such as Samsung or Deloitte’s own competitor PwC, that recently partnered with Vechain on their authenticating IoT blockchain platform.
In conclusion to the findings of the report, which has been made freely available to download, Lark stated:
“Retail and CPG businesses need to act now and plan for future blockchain adoption, or risk being left in the dust.”
