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Use of Blockchain in the Food Industry

Blockchain Technology

Globally, the food industry confronts concerns like lack of product traceability, lack of labeling transparency, and inefficient inventory management. Additionally, issues like the entry of counterfeit food products, coupled with slow product innovation cycles, are challenging for many foods and beverage manufacturers to maintain their reputation and keep up with the industry’s dynamics.

Blockchain, proliferating rapidly and covering almost every industry and sector in the world, addresses these challenges. The large-scale adoption of blockchain across the F&B supply chain can create substantial benefits. It can build healthy supply chain synergies to help take the industry to the next level. So, let’s see some uses of blockchain in the food industry.

  • Increased Food Traceability

Global supply chains have become excessively complex. Some of the reasons for the complexities include evolving consumer preferences and demands, increased global competition and regulatory controls, etc.

However, these are perpetual challenges or factors. They have always been an integral part of the contemporary food industry and hence are deemed to be there. What matters here is how the food industry tackles them.

Food companies can use blockchain technology to increase traceability and quality assurance from source to consumers. So, while meeting consumer demands, food and beverage companies can also strengthen consumer trust.

But how do blockchain increase traceability and transparency? Blockchain is a distributed database that fosters honesty and transparency throughout the supply chain. All supply chain elements are responsible for and obliged to upload their product information and data. Thus, accurate data collection helps increase partner accountability and credibility.

Blockchain technology enables everyone to track the origin of the product and its manufacturing process and share all the information through a single platform.

It is undoubtedly a disruptive technology, requiring F&B companies to reorganize their workflows and systems. However, if companies want to maintain consumer trust through increased transparency, blockchain is undoubtedly the way!

  • Increased Efficiency

Blockchain enables you to track every productivity throughout the supply chain. It helps automate every stage of a product’s supply chain journey, thus reducing manual errors and increasing supply chain efficiency.

All the players involved in the supply chain can have instant data access through the cloud without depending on each other. Furthermore, it enables consistent data tracking and reduces administrative efforts considerably. Everyone gets everything they need in a single place. The storing and availability of information in a single location also help enhance communication efficiency and effectiveness.

  • Increased Security

Security is one of the essential USPs of blockchain technology, which leverages blocks to secure every transaction.

These blocks are copies of the document stored chronologically and linked to earlier blocks. They serve as a permanent record of transactions. Hacking or stealing data from the blocks or manipulating them is highly difficult. It helps reduce security risks and incidents like fraud or forgery within the supply chain.

Consumers are sensitive to fraud. Their response to fraud, misconduct, non-compliance, or a negative word, slides rapidly from negative to sometimes hostile. In situations like these, where a single error could compel the company into a precarious position, increasing security with blockchain can help.

  • Assured Food Safety

Two things that define a food’s value are its quality and safety. Despite numerous technological advancements, food and beverage manufacturers still cannot track down the source of contamination in a particular food product. In some worse cases, it is too late until any supply chain players identify the contamination! Using blockchain can help combat this serious concern.

Companies can leverage track-and-trace solutions that usher the transparency necessary to help companies manage supply chains efficiently.

The system enables companies to trace every little detail of a particular food or beverage product across every supply chain stage. It can also help them track the source of contamination (in case of contamination) promptly and forbid contaminated or counterfeited products from entering the market.

  • Better Supplier Selection

Vendors, associates, and suppliers pretty much impact the position and competence of F&B companies. Accordingly, the latter always keeps looking for credible, efficient, and honest raw material suppliers. Blockchain can help here as well. They can help companies connect with better suppliers. Similarly, suppliers can connect with food and beverage manufacturers, participate in bids, keep a note of tenders, and contest for a particular contract based on their capabilities.

  • Enhanced Inventory Management

Inefficient inventory management is often cited as one of the most significant reasons for the failure of a particular company. Many consider it an arduous task to manage inventories and shorten lead times. Integrating blockchain in the supply chain can help automate the food production process and overcome challenges or shortcomings concerning production workflows.

Key Takeaways of Blockchain’s Benefit for the Food Industry

In a nutshell, blockchain proves beneficial in the following ways and areas.

    • Enhanced food traceability
    • Improved inventory management
    • Tracking and tracing the source of contamination and counterfeit products
    • Better choice of suppliers
    • Ensuring food safety
    • Increased data security
    • Increased consumer trust and enhanced credibility in the market

Other benefits include preventing price coercion, fulfilling routine operational demands, and reducing food waste.

Customized Blockchain Solutions with Qodequay Technologies

Blockchain is an evolving technology. It is yet to touch many areas and gain widespread acceptance and adoption across the food industry. However, it can undoubtedly overcome almost every existing challenge in the food industry and in helping avoid many futuristic ones.

Qodequay Technology has the experience and expertise required to craft customized blockchain solutions for the food and beverage industry. We understand your needs and supply chain to develop blockchain solutions aligned with your requirements.

But how do we do it? Click here to connect with us to know more about blockchain solutions and how they can work wonders for your business.

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How is Blockchain Technology Changing the Financial Sector?

How is Blockchain Technology Changing the Financial Sector?

Blockchain’s use in BFSI is rapidly increasing. It was valued at around USD 0.25-0.30 billion in 2018. But with BFSI increasingly realizing its benefits, blockchain’s BFSI market size is slated to reach slightly above USD 2.50 billion in 2022.

Now, these growth statistics may appear organic. But blockchain’s BFSI market size, expected to reach about USD 22 billion, may entice many!

Security is blockchain’s foundation. From reduced frauds to better customer service, blockchain’s scope covers every essential aspect of the multi-faceted finance sector. And that’s one significant reason BFSI loves it.

But what factors make experts project such a massive growth for blockchain in BFSI? In other words, how is blockchain disrupting conventional banking and unlocking many exciting opportunities for everyone? Let’s examine some factors.

Blockchain Applications in the Finance Sector

From an accelerated settlement process to increased transactional transparency, these seven applications make blockchain’s transformations in BFSI evident.

  1. Accelerated Settlement Process

Blockchain can accelerate the current and otherwise slow and cumbersome settlement process. Blockchain optimizes financial settlements, which saves time and money for multiple parties involved. Transactions get settled in minutes or seconds. Hence, banks don’t have to manage middle and back-office supports.

These aspects also point to enhanced customer service. Thus, banks must consider exploring blockchain. But every bank may have its unique way of attempting blockchain-powered settlements. While some may explore the option within banks, others may confine it to settling department transactions.

  1. Enhanced Contractual Performance

The smart contracts of blockchain helps financial institutions enhance contractual performance that get auto-executed once the pre-set conditions are met. But smart contracts must be well-designed and integrated, abiding to applicable laws and regulatory compliances.

Blockchain technology can significantly benefit intricate financial transactions like customized smart contracts integrated with their distributed ledger platforms. Automatic settlement through smart contracts, controlled by a well-defined and incorruptible set of rules, can make the difference.

  1. Increased Compliance (KYC)

Compliance is a complex aspect to deal with. Banking and finance aren’t an exception. They are required to comply with various rules and regulations at the regional, state, and national levels.

KYC (Know Your Customer) is an essential compliance requirement within the banking and finance sector. But usually, the process is lengthy. Additionally, they lack automated customer identification technology and integration required to help teams perform their tasks efficiently.

Blockchain can help here. It can work as a single digital ID source, enabling the quick exchange of documents between banks and external parties. Accordingly, blockchain can facilitate automated account opening and simultaneously reduce cost, resources and ensure data privacy.

  1. Seamless International Money Transfers

Digital payment platforms have simplified money transfers. Within the boundaries of a country or across boundaries globally is the larger scope. Despite technological advancements, sending money internationally is still an arduous process. Additionally, its error-prone nature questions its safety and credibility!

There are billions of dollars transferred internationally each year. A well-designed, empathetic, and custom blockchain solution may allow users to make electronic transfers anywhere in the world securely from their mobiles.

Prominent players across the BFSI sector have adopted international payments powered by blockchain. It helps them save time and money. It also allows consumers to complete international electronic money transfers through their mobile seamlessly.

Thus, technology can eliminate the need to visit money transfer agents and save commission or transaction fees and a lot of time!

  1. Enhanced Capital Optimization

Blockchain makes peer-to-peer transactions possible, eliminating intermediaries like custodian banks or clearing agents. Thus, blockchain fosters better capital optimization, thus resulting in substantially reduced operational costs.

When banks share a blockchain, the cost of that shared blockchain and related ecosystem might be higher than the bank’s individual managing costs. But when blockchain is shared, the cost also gets shared within all the participating banks. Thus, together, banks can significantly reduce their operational cost.

  1. Increased Security

While using technology, with benefits come security concerns. The use of digital payment platforms is proliferating. But online payments are vulnerable to attacks. Often, they involve various intermediaries. The participation of various financial intermediaries can make information prone to interception and, thus, fraud.

But blockchain can make a difference here. Payments made on blockchain are quicker and more traceable than conventional payment methods. Blockchain can help fill this void in oversight with its cryptographic algorithms. It can increase security during the information exchange process between the various parties.

  1. Reduced Fraud Instances

Fraud is a massive business worldwide. In 2021, consumers reported losing approximately six billion dollars, up by about 69-71 percent over 2020.

Blockchain can enhance security and reduce fraud instances significantly, if not completely eliminate them. It is because blockchain creates an immutable record of transactions. It is end-to-end encrypted and thus arrests the possibilities of fraud, unauthorized activities, and trespassers.

Blockchain enables fraud detection due to full transparency and sharing information real-time with all participants.

Additionally, blockchain data is stored across a network of computers. So, it becomes almost impossible for a hacker to hack the data. The system proves much more helpful than its conventional counterparts, where data is stored on a single server.

The permissioned blockchain is an essential attribute in preventing fraud. It is only through invitation from the members of a permissioned blockchain that an individual can have the access to contribute.

Design Thinking-Powered Blockchain Solutions for BFSI

Need custom blockchain solutions for BFSI to resolve conventional and contemporary challenges? Qodequay Technologies’ unique and proven design thinking approach can make a difference. We empower BFSI organizations with custom and sustainable blockchain solutions.

Our design thinking approach involves a thoughtful and empathetic review of the requirement. While reviewing the client’s needs, we identify the pain points, define challenges and ideate various solutions to resolve the issue.

Our experts create rapid prototypes that examine the solution’s viability in real-time, thus increasing its likelihood of success. Furthermore, we test the solution to deliver a highly meaningful and value-driven solution for your needs.

At Qodequay, we specialize in managing public and private blockchain infrastructure with monitoring and preventative maintenance. Our highly scalable solutions continuously align themselves with your business growth.

Connect with us at contact@qodequay.com to know more.

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