How Blockchain Might Revolutionise the Procurement Process

这位客人帖子来自Ana Farr，社区经理ecommerce-platforms.comandunblock.net..

区间has made a lot of noise in the digital world, and at this point, it’s almost accurate to say most people know what it is and its impact in the technology sphere. Most industries and organisations such as supply chain, data science, transportation, finance, and healthcare already have pilot blockchain projects in place. We believe this nascent technology can revolutionise procurement as well.

There is a lot that virtually every company can gain from decentralised ledgers (another name for blockchain). For those who are still new to this tech, blockchain is a powerful digital storage system (like ordinary ledgers) that keeps information secure from external tampering. The ledger is maintained by a group of computers (or users) usually referred to as nodes. For a change to happen, over 50% of the nodes have to provide authorisation.

What if I could convince most of the nodes to vote for my interests or even better, have absolute control over them? Right. That is called 51% attack (taking control of over half of the decision makers) and rarely happens as it would require either a massive amount of power and money to pull such a move. The rigid nature of blockchain to tampering makes it the most secure and transparent recording system.

Where Blockchain and procurement Meet

• 嵌入信托

采购专业人员应对的最大问题之一是他们与其他组织之间缺乏信任。当信任不存在时，我们倾向于避开供应商我们不知道（谁实际上是真正的实际交易），并推动不友好的财务条款，直到供应商证明一个有价值的合作伙伴。大多数公司都涉及银行家和保险代理人来减轻风险。

因此，建立尽职调查也可以得到更昂贵和耗时的耗时。但是，BlockChain将所有内容放在桌子上以查看。虽然可以查看所有详细信息，但数据无法损坏，编辑或删除。因此，公司和供应商都可以看到产品的每一步，从而促使造成问题的任何人都可以负责。

• Automation of systems

仍然是一个订单和处理付款manual job for many procurement and finance departments. The job usually involves recording all the finer details of the buyer and seller which includes agreements, receipts, and other documents. To add to that, some records are kept in different offices or companies, and that would necessitate several phone calls and meeting to ensure everything checks out from both sides. This can be tedious, inconvenient and time-consuming.

When blockchain is in play, all the records exist under one roof, and most actions including payment processing can be automated. A smart contract needs to be fed with all the necessary details, and it will take care of everything else. Automation can also help with supplier onboarding since all of them have access to the hiring contract.

• 简化的付款

B2B payments tend to get very complex and slow as many details have to be put down on paper. On a normal day-to-day transaction, procurement officers can be involved in drafting contracts, talking to insurance and finance before finalising payment. Such lengthy processes will not only delay the vendor from receiving the cash but might mean another purchase cannot be initiated until the first one is done.

BlockChain的智能合同系统意味着支付将及时发送，而中介机构（如银行和保险）将无需。作为术语提示的智能合同是一个自执行程序，仅在满足所有预设条件时启动交易。

The purpose of a smart contract is to introduce some level of trust amongst transacting parties that do not know each other. Transparency exists as well since everyone can view all the details in the contract.

• 更好的安全

Just like in healthcare, procurement departments deal with hordes of sensitive data that could cost a company millions if it falls into the wrong hands. Cloud storage provides a safer solution, but it’s not as secure as digital ledgers – and cloud services are getting expensive as data continues to balloon.

您可能会想知道区块链中的所有数据会发生什么？一旦书面写入，横断面的记录成为防篡改。没有人可以编辑或删除它们。通过聪明的加密或私人区块链，关键信息，证书和其他文件可以保持模糊，以避免重复或任何妥协。

• 公平和兼容的流程

随着最终的可见性到位，区块链可以促进公平和柔顺的实践。在他们造成进一步损害您的业务之前，可以检测到欺诈，洗钱和其他不可接受的做法。

• Improved productivity

One of the biggest reasons why many companies decide to adopt blockchain is to cut costs. If most of the functions are on autopilot through smart contracts, and data is secure, and we have no use for intermediaries, then there is a lot to save. In addition, automating processes increases accuracy while minimising the chances of errors injected through human input.

底线

区间has a lot to offer for the procurement function, which is why procurement professionals should start to consider its use in earnest. Integrating this tech in a company’s processes will result in transparency, efficiency, improved trust and security. However, before you leap forward, you need to understand that blockchain is still in its early stages and hence suitable for pilot projects only. Additionally, it’s not a good idea to jump in blindly simply because every other article is describing it as the next big thing. You need to have a plan and understand which processes need improvement, and how much you expect to spend.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Spend Matters.