Blockchain Applications Inward Render Chain Management

Here is the whitepaper that started this post, which is admittedly exterior my domain of expertise. Also hither is some give-and-take nosotros had on this on Twitter. 

The white newspaper includes quotes similar "7 inwards 10 consumer manufacture executives expression to get got a blockchain production network inwards three years" as well as "Blockchains are expected to greatly cut ix frictions. Including: inaccessible marketplaces, restrictive regulations, institutional inertia, invisible threats, imperfect information, inaccessible information."

Man, if that final controversy is true, the companies should only employ blockchain as well as burn downwardly their CEO's as well as management teams every bit they are no longer needed. Blockchain is a miracle worker indeed. It enters inaccessible marketplaces, it loosens restrictive regulations, eliminates institutional inertia, makes visible the invisible threats (watchout ninjas), corrects/curates the imperfect information, as well as makes all information accessible.

I know that I tend to acquire hypercritical when I am analyzing some novel idea/application. It is a vocational disease. On some other day, I may endeavour to write a to a greater extent than positive article close blockchain applications inwards render chains. But, since at that spot are already many overly optimistic articles on the blockchain applications inwards render chains, this is the article yous acquire from me today.

Do yous require blockchains for supply-chain management?

There is this dainty paper, titled "Do yous require a blockchain?", that explains the application context blockchains would endure useful for. This figure is truly nice. I volition proceed this handy here, as well as refer blockchain fanatics to this figure.


And this tabular array provides a dainty comparing of your options every bit well.


As a instance written report the newspaper looks at supply-chain management (SCM). In SCM, the menstruum of materials as well as services required inwards manufacturing a given production is managed. This includes various intermediate storage as well as production cycles across multiple companies. Consider how complex the SCM for Walmart is. And, spell many people don't realize this, military SCM problems challenger or fifty-fifty occur that of giant corporations such every bit Walmart. (Military is the biggest consumer of RFIDs behind Walmart.) If the armed services screws upwards their SCM logistics that may hateful life as well as death. Due to misallocation of resources, some troops inwards deployment may endure spell some others would get got surplus food/items that may require to endure thrashed. (Don't search for armed services applications of blockchain. I searched for it as well as regretted reading superficial first-mover articles hyping blockchain role for armed services render chain management.)

Of course of written report an immediate number facing the role of blockchains for SCM is that too much transparency could endure a bad affair for work concern strategy (even to a greater extent than unsafe for armed services strategy).

Here is some other keen takeaway from the "Do yous require a blockchain?" paper.  Harkening dorsum to Figure 1, what is the nature of trust to the author of the blockchain entry? How is integrity enforced at entry fourth dimension (for recording the type, quantity, as well as status of the goods existence shipped)? If nosotros trust the writer, what is the practise goodness of the blockchain system, let's replicate it across some append-only stores (that is how accounting does ledgers anyway).
"This reasoning leaves us alongside the query whether all writers tin endure trusted. SCM has the inherent work of the interface betwixt the digital as well as the physical world. A human, or some auto nether the command of a unmarried writer, typically is required to register that a sure goodness has arrived inwards a warehouse, as well as if for instance its lineament is appropriate. If at that spot is no trust inwards the functioning of these employees, thence the whole render chain is technically compromised every bit whatever information tin endure supplied past times a malicious writer. If, on the other hand, all writers are trusted, a blockchain is non needed every bit a regular database alongside shared write access tin endure used instead. Note that if through some technical means, the connectedness betwixt the digital as well as physical basis could endure realized inwards a secure manner, thence the previous reasoning powerfulness change."
If yous similar to avoid the too much transparency problem as well as have some trust inwards the writers (or tin get got leverage on them via no-payment as well as no-future-business threats), thence instead of a permissionless/public blockchain, going alongside a mortal blockchain could endure a ameliorate option. But thence why non only role a database or Kafka streaming to a database. Hyperledger inwards its electrical flow cast is pretty approximately that actually. If yous get got trust issues alongside writers, run PBFT on top of that.

MAD questions

1. What are some SCM use-cases where (distributed) databases/datastores would non work, as well as nosotros positively require blockchains?

2. How much information is SCM applications going to generate?
In my previous post, I wrote upwards my notes from physician Laura Haas's speak on information scientific discipline challenges inwards nutrient render chains. The speak mentioned from i nutrient testing sample for metagenomics, yous tin expression to encounter 2400 microbial species. As a result, i metagenomics file is 250 GB, as well as 50 metagenomics samples number inwards 149 workflows invoked 42K times producing 271K files as well as 116K graphs.

I was surprised past times the size of this data. And this is solely from the nutrient security aspect of SCM. So the information sizes SCM generate has a potential to grow large speedily as well as nosotros get got a large information work inwards SCMs. Then how practise nosotros shop this huge information on all blockchain nodes? Big information volition non solely overwhelm the storage resources of the nodes but also strain the network every bit well. Are nosotros going to only shop the hash of the large data? If so, why can't nosotros shop the hash inwards an append-only multiversion distributed datastore as well as telephone telephone it a day.

Moreover, don't yous require to run some analytics on this data? So yous volition require a database/data shop whatever how. Instead of investigating ways to practise SCM alongside blockchains, wouldn't it brand to a greater extent than feel to expression for ways to enforce existing database solutions alongside provenance/attestation? (I get got been hearing close provenance travel inwards databases but never had fourth dimension to larn close them.)

3. How practise nosotros learn blockchains to proceed secrets?
For SCM, organizations would non similar other parties to know the information close goods existence transported inwards guild non to lose their strategic advantage. I guess at that spot are some techniques to anonymize information as well as some blockchains role them. But given that this information is permanently stored, how difficult is it for an incentivized 3rd political party to data-mine (in auto learning sense, non inwards blockchain feel :-) this information as well as de-anonymize the information.

4. One chain to dominion them all?
If nosotros role blockchains for SCM, how practise nosotros acquire Blue Planet miners on board? I guess nosotros give some tokens via an ICO, as well as inquire them to mine for to a greater extent than tokens. People nation blockchains facilitate crowdfunding novel initiatives as well as I sure enough appreciate some of the advantages ICOs bring. On the other hand, if done responsibly (and non only playing to people's greed) I am sure this won't endure every bit slow every bit it sounds. Would at that spot endure dozens of SCM blockchains? Would it endure possible to hold a good for yous number of various miner pools? When things commence to grade off would nosotros terminate upwards alongside blockchain graveyards? A responsible startup should also get got an end-of-life plan, right?

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