Supply Chain Revolution: How Blockchain Technology Is Transforming the Global Flow of Assets

by Don Tapscott (Editor)

The COVID-19 crisis has taken precious lives and devastated the global economy. It has also revealed chinks in our supply chains. Not only did manufacturers find themselves scrambling unsuccessfully to find new suppliers when their Asian sources shut down, but the Western world experienced across- the-board shortages of essential consumer packaged goods for the first time in decades. The Blockchain has the potential to minimize these kinds of pandemic disruptions. In this book, the contributors show how the Blockchain can fix longstanding problems that make the business of getting goods to the customer so slow and expensive, especially in a crisis. Today’s supply chains are complex, as they move things through trucks, planes, boats, and trains. Too many parties rely on a hodgepodge of documents and intermediaries to do business, which makes it slow and expensive to get goods to the customer. That’s why, in a pandemic, an uninformed consumer might reasonably believe that toilet paper won’t be available for many months. Enter blockchain—the Internet of Value. For the first time in human history, individuals and organizations can manage and trade their assets digitally peer to peer. In doing so, they will reinvent global commerce and how we exchange value. This will transform the best practices of operations, logistics, procurement and purchasing, transportation, customs and border control, trade finance and insurance, manufacturing, and inventory management. Supply Chain Revolution identifies what leaders should be doing now to prepare their organizations for the inevitable decentralized future. With contributions from some of the world’s top experts, this book provides a view of the fast- approaching future of global supply chains, ripe for disruption at every level and in every role. Enterprise executives and entrepreneurs alike will find ideas and opportunities to learn, discuss with all their stakeholders, and decide how best to participate in the blockchain revolution.

Genres: Business

295 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2020

About the author

Don is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world.

In 2011 Don was named one of the world's most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. He has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit Digital Economychanged thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the “digital divide” in Growing Up Digital.

His 2000 work, Digital Capital, introduced seminal ideas like “the business web” and was described by BusinessWeek as “pure enlightenment." Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the best selling management book in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages.

The Economist called his newest work Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet a “Schumpeter-ian story of creative destruction” and the Huffington Post said the book is “nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world.”

Over 30 years he has introduced many ground-breaking concepts that are part of contemporary understanding. His work continues as a the Chairman of Moxie Insight, a member of World Economic Forum, Adjunct Professor of Management for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Martin Prosperity Institute Fellow.

Reviews

[Yann Roshdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je termine à l'instant ce petit livre-conférence sur la chaîne d'approvisionnement mondiale et l'arrivée de la blockchain.

Dans chaque innovation technologique révolutionnaire, il y a trois grands moments: 1) "proof-of-concept", 2) standardisation et 3) "scaling-up". Le "proof-of-concept" c'est l'application concrète de l'innovation dans une entreprise, un secteur, une usine, etc. La standardisation, c'est l'établissement d'une harmonisation entre les différents systèmes qui participeront à la plateforme. Le "scaling-up" c'est la mise en fonction finale du système pour tous les utilisateurs.

Dans les blockchains, nous sommes rendus entre les étapes 2 et 3. Il s'agit d'une course à l'armement.

Et la Belt and Road Initiative du parti communiste chinois (qui a son infopub dans l'ouvrage) a dans sa stratégie un plan de plateforme standardisé via les technologies blockchains.

Cette révolution, souvent appelée "quatrième révolution industrielle" (je suis en désaccord avec le qualificatif) fait partie du paradigme de la guerre froide. La géopolitique doit rester dans notre esprit lorsque nous discutons de ces sujets.

Dans tous les cas, à l'intérieur du bouquin nous avons l'état de la situation pour différents projets partout sur la planète et en date de fin 2019 début 2020. Évidemment, comme nous sommes dans un moment critique de l'histoire des technologies humaines, le marché évolue très rapidement.

[Rahul Prakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Tapscott's latest book made for an interesting and easy read. Gave me a holistic view into how blockchain can help streamline supply chain processes and therefore reducing cost and eliminating fraud. The cool thing is that we get the benefit of hive mind as there are many contributors. People who have known different initiatives closely give the info. It's interesting to see the interplay of Blockchain with other technologies like IoT as they work together for making supply chains smoother. It certainly gives a glimpse into what's coming on the Blockchain front.

[Andrew Turtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise picture of blockchain. this is an amazing series worth reading in entirety