They mention there are 'misaligned interests' in supply chains, but I am not sure what interests are misaligned?
Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
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Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#12I don't remember who first said it but blockchain has exactly one killer feature, Bitcoin. If you try to adapt it anywhere else you're probably abusing the tech.
>I don't remember who first said it but blockchain has exactly one killer feature, Bitcoin.
So zero killer features, then.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#13Quite a few times I've heard the line that blockchain can revolutionize supply chains, but I still don't understand it. Since you're dealing with physical goods, you're relying on the participants of the system to enter data truthfully and accurately, which defeats the purpose of a "trustless" data store like blockchain.
You're missing the IoT component. The devices themselves do the data "entry" on the blockchain so the whole system is automated, distributed and tamper proof (assuming you don't hack the devices, of course).
That just punts on the problem. It's basically not solvable - at some point you have to trust humans anyway.
The only reason this works well for, say, bitcoins, is that they are a digital "asset" created on the chain themselves. Everything else trying to tie a physical asset to a chain has the same problem, you can't do it without relying on trust outside the system.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#14I don't remember who first said it but blockchain has exactly one killer feature, Bitcoin. If you try to adapt it anywhere else you're probably abusing the tech.
I saw another very interesting use that I don't fully understand from a technical perspective, but it basically promised to accurately report position-at-time, via a system of transponders.
The use case is, I can tell when Fedex or the local pizza place is lying to me about my delivery being 30 minutes away, or half a mile down the street, or whether the delivery driver actually attempted to physically deliver my package to my door at 5:47pm or not. (Or Ikea can verify that their subcontracted delivery driver actually got the couch to the buyer on Sunday, or both Uber and I can know exactly where I was dropped off and picked up and when, etc., etc., without either party being able to lie about it.)
A friend of mine agreed that the idea was good, but looked into their implementation and said it was a horrorshow.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#15Quite a few times I've heard the line that blockchain can revolutionize supply chains, but I still don't understand it. Since you're dealing with physical goods, you're relying on the participants of the system to enter data truthfully and accurately, which defeats the purpose of a "trustless" data store like blockchain.
You're missing the IoT component. The devices themselves do the data "entry" on the blockchain so the whole system is automated, distributed and tamper proof (assuming you don't hack the devices, of course).
If you have a tamper-proof, automated, and distributed, 100% trusted devices providing statistics for your supply chain, why do you even need blockchain?
I dunno, this seems like the one-time pad thingy. If you had a mechanism to transfer a 10GB one-time pad to your friend in a secure manner... why not transfer your 10GB of "protected" data in that secure manner instead? Just because a technical solution "technically works" doesn't mean its useful.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#16I feel like "blockchain" must be a mental shorthand for something different to these people, and that they are not all delusional and insane. What am I missing?
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#17I don't remember who first said it but blockchain has exactly one killer feature, Bitcoin. If you try to adapt it anywhere else you're probably abusing the tech.
I would argue that Ethereum smart contracts are much more useful than bitcoin itself. PoW, on the other hand, is a complete waste of resources.
Smart contracts are stupid for a variety of reasons, the biggest one is that the main feature of contracts is not automatic and literal enforcement.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#18They mention there are 'misaligned interests' in supply chains, but I am not sure what interests are misaligned?
Right on top of my head? A dozen plus :-) I just don't see how Blockchain would solve any of those.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're missing the IoT component. The devices themselves do the data "entry" on the blockchain so the whole system is automated, distributed and tamper proof (assuming you don't hack the devices, of course).
That just punts on the problem. It's basically not solvable - at some point you have to trust humans anyway. The only reason this works well for, say, bitcoins, is that they are a digital "asset" created on the chain themselves. Everything else trying to tie a physical asset to a chain has the same problem, you can't do it without relying on trust outside the system.
> Everything else trying to tie a physical asset to a chain has the same problem
Agree that “blockchain for supply chain” is inherently flawed. But there are hypothetical (if currently unfeasible) use cases. For example, derive a cryptographic key from a carcass’ DNA. Now you have a good physical-digital nexus. Or, for electronics, measure some random and hard-to-replicate analog jitter.
Re: Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains
#20I don't remember who first said it but blockchain has exactly one killer feature, Bitcoin. If you try to adapt it anywhere else you're probably abusing the tech.
I saw another very interesting use that I don't fully understand from a technical perspective, but it basically promised to accurately report position-at-time, via a system of transponders. The use case is, I can tell when Fedex or the local pizza place is lying to me about my delivery being 30 minutes away, or half a mile down the street, or whether the delivery driver actually attempted to physically deliver my pac…
Well, that is already working pretty well. E.g. large carriers are using that in their operations, one of the distinctions between those and small time operators. One of the biggest benefits of this is the electronic proof of delivery. Just how Blockchain would help with I didn't get yet.