Demystifying the role of technology in supply chain finance: Blockchain

BlockChain已被描述一下，作为“寻找问题的解决方案”。近年来，围绕这一话题的炒作 - 即使用分布式分散的公共分类账来创造一个不可变的交易记录 - 已经大大超过了其现实生活应用。那么区块链必须提供什么样的世界supply chain finance?

Blockchain and trade

The benefits of blockchain in the context of trade finance have been widely discussed. Blockchain offers the ability to exchange trade-related data between participants without the need for paper. A key concept where blockchain is concerned is the use of smart contracts — in other words, self-executing contracts based on computer code that is stored on a blockchain. Other benefits include better visibility over the progress of goods along the supply chain and consequently, more information about the origin of goods.

This means blockchain could have a role to play in alleviating the trade finance gap — the gap between the demand for trade finance and its availability.

The亚洲开发银行在2019年的文章中注明，包括区块链包括一些方法可以减轻贸易融资差距，估计为1.5万亿美元 - 虽然亚行还指出，高成本和缺乏全球标准当前所涉及的障碍。

但是，虽然炒作是关于区块链的谈话的共同特征，但在交易领域也有很多活动。在过去的几年里，许多基于区间的贸易融资的发展已经宣布，其中许多许多人专注于数字化贸易数据和简化基于纸张的仪器，如信用证。值得注意的基于区块链的贸易金融网络和平台包括Marco Polo网络，ICC Tradeflow和Contour（以前的Voltron），其中许多通过不同行业参与者的密切合作开发。

Blockchain and supply chain finance

So far, so good — but what about supply chain finance?

To recap,supply chain finance — also known as reverse factoring— is a solution used by companies making purchases (buyers) to offer their suppliers early payment on their invoices. Unlike traditional factoring, in a supply chain finance arrangement, funding comes via the buyer’s bank at a rate based on the buyer’s credit rating. As such, suppliers can typically access funding at a more attractive cost than they can achieve independently.

In the context of supply chain finance, the benefits of blockchain may be less apparent than for something like trade finance, which has long been associated with unwieldy paper-based processes. But there has nevertheless been plenty of discussion about how blockchain could play a role in supply chain finance solutions.

For one thing, the ability of blockchain to create an immutable audit trail for all transactions has the potential to increase trust between the relevant parties. Blockchain could also be used to achieve a single source of truth for activities such as invoice receipt and approval, which are key when it comes to determining which invoices can be paid early. Other benefits could include using smart contracts to automate transactions, or the use of blockchain to enable pre-shipment supply chain finance.

Another point of interest is the role blockchain could play in opening up supply chain finance to more players in the supply chain, such as SME suppliers. Traditionally, bank-led supply chain finance programs have focused on the buyer’s largest 20 or 50 suppliers, but the benefits of the program can be greatly increased if it can be accessed by the company’s whole supplier base.

当然，区块链不是实现这一目标的唯一方法。一些供应链金融提供商已经使公司能够船上千万的供应商 - 被称为“长尾” - 通过提供简化的船上过程。

一些人还认为,区块链提供了ability to access a wider range of funding providers than a traditional supply chain finance solution. But again, this is something that is already offered by multi-funder platforms.

Limitations of blockchain in supply chain finance

In practice, while blockchain may have a role to play in supply chain finance in the future, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

For one thing, developing and implementing viable blockchain solutions is likely to involve a lengthy lifecycle given the nascent nature of the technology — not to mention considerable investment.

Developing blockchain-based supply chain finance solutions would also require considerable collaboration among participants, including an agreement to build and share a common system. The benefits of implementation would likely only be achieved with a critical mass of participants, meaning that a community of parties would need to be committed to adoption — without the prospect of any concrete financial benefits.

Other potential obstacles are likely to include the conflicting needs for both transparency and security when it comes to sharing information. And of course, agreed standards would be needed if a particular approach were to gain traction across supplier ecosystems.

One of many

What’s more, it’s important to recognize that blockchain is not the only technology that may shape the future development of supply chain finance. Also of interest are developments in areas like robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning — some of which are already delivering concrete benefits.

例如，AI可用于获得更多对供应商行为的理解，从而更加准确地预测供应商是否接受不同情况下的早期付款。我们将在帖子中探索其中一些概念。

总之，在短期内，区块链可能无法提供供应链金融。但它肯定可以被视为多年来可能有助于塑造这一领域的几种技术之一。