Is Blockchain the Key to Achieving Supply Chain Transparency?

Summary

区块链技术在供应链透明度和安全性方面取得了显著进展。EY的区块链领导者Paul Brody在讨论中指出，区块链已经从试点阶段发展到大规模生产，尤其在透明度和可追溯性方面。目前，区块链不仅用于追踪葡萄酒和疫苗等产品的原材料，还用于创建代币和非同质化代币（NFTs），如意大利啤酒品牌Peyroni为每批啤酒创建的NFT，以实现产品和批次的可追溯性。此外，区块链还开始用于位置追踪，并通过以太坊改进提案（EIP）提出了标准化的元数据基础和URL/URI模型，以支持可变和不可变数据的链接。尽管存在关于区块链能源消耗的批评，但以太坊和Polygon等平台的能源效率远高于比特币，并且正在向权益证明（Proof of Stake）过渡，这将进一步降低能耗。NFTs在供应链中的应用代表了独特资产的所有权，而智能合约则为创建自动化和自主的供应链提供了可能，这将减少手动操作并提高效率。尽管如此，区块链在供应链中的应用仍面临可扩展性、隐私处理和集成现有系统等挑战，但通过二层网络和以太坊2.0的升级，这些问题正在得到解决。

Takeaways

• 📈 区块链技术在供应链透明度和追踪方面取得了显著进展，已经从试点阶段过渡到大规模生产应用。
• 🔍 区块链正在用于追踪各种产品，从葡萄酒到疫苗，包括原材料和成品，这已成为一个庞大的业务领域。
• 🌐 公司正在尝试新的方法，如创建代币和NFT（非同质化代币），例如为每个批次的啤酒创建一个新的NFT。
• 📝 区块链上的数据分为不可变数据和可变数据，不可变数据用于记录历史，而可变数据则通过链下存储定期更新。
• 🔑 尽管区块链记录不可更改，但通过更新URL链接到的链下存储，可以实现对可变数据的持续更新。
• ⚡ 区块链技术，尤其是比特币，因其能耗问题受到批评，但以太坊和其二层网络Polygon的能效比比特币高很多，并且正在向权益证明（Proof of Stake）转变，将进一步减少能耗。
• 🔄 权益证明（Proof of Stake）可能成为工作量证明（Proof of Work）的一个替代方案，尽管它可能有利于已经拥有大量资产的参与者，但系统仍然是相对去中心化的。
• 📦 在供应链跟踪中使用的NFT代表了独特资产的所有权，不仅仅是产品的可追溯性，还包括位置和所有权。
• 💡 智能合约可以自动响应条件变化，实现自动执行任务，如自动重新订购库存，推动供应链的自动化和自主化。
• 🚧 区块链技术在供应链管理中的广泛应用还面临一些障碍，包括提高对可追溯性的接受度、隐私保护的成熟度以及参与者的易用性集成。
• ⏱️ 区块链的扩展性和交易处理速度是过去的问题，但正在通过创建二层网络和以太坊从1.0向2.0的过渡来解决，后者包括分片技术，将大幅增加处理能力和速度。

Q & A

区块链技术在实现供应链透明度方面的现状如何？

区块链技术在供应链透明度和可追溯性方面取得了很大进展，已经从概念验证阶段发展到大规模生产阶段。目前，区块链被用于从原材料建模到成品跟踪的各个环节，涉及从葡萄酒到疫苗、原材料和食品等多个领域。

区块链技术在供应链管理中已经超越了试点阶段吗？

是的，区块链技术已经在许多公司中超越了试点阶段，正在全面生产中使用，并且公司正在尝试新的运作方式。

如何通过区块链技术实现产品从生产到分销的每一步跟踪？

通过创建代币和非同质化代币（NFTs），例如为每个批次的啤酒创建一个新的NFT，可以实现产品批次的可追溯性。此外，还有提议通过以太坊改进提案（EIP）来标准化位置跟踪和数据附加。

区块链上的不可变数据和可变数据是如何区分的？

区块链上的记录是不可变的，但可以通过链下存储和URL来更新可变数据。这样，可以在区块链上查看不可变的历史数据和当前状态。

区块链和加密货币的能源密集型问题是否得到了解决？

以太坊比比特币能源效率高90倍，并且正在从工作量证明（PoW）转向权益证明（PoS），这将使其能源效率提高99倍。对于比特币，需要通过可再生能源输入来解决这一问题。

权益证明（PoS）是否会加剧区块链上的中心化问题？

尽管权益证明可能会让已经拥有大量资产的参与者受益，但以太坊仍然是一个相对去中心化的系统，并且随着二层网络的发展，访问将变得更加平等。

在供应链跟踪中使用NFT代表什么？

在供应链跟踪中使用NFT可以代表独特资产的所有权，例如啤酒的批次。NFT提供了一种追踪每个批次独特性的方式，有助于健康、安全和可追溯性的管理。

区块链如何帮助创建所谓的自主供应链？

智能合约可以自动响应条件变化，执行任务，如自动重新订购库存。这可以使得供应链的各个环节，如个别缓冲区和存储位置，通过智能合约实现自主化，从而创建自组织、自动化的自主供应链。

区块链技术在供应链管理中成熟和广泛应用的障碍是什么？

需要提高对可追溯性的舒适度，改进隐私组件，使更多参与者能够轻松登录和集成，例如EDI和SAP集成。此外，还需要解决规模和交易处理速度的问题。

区块链技术在处理大规模交易和提高交易速度方面有哪些改进？

通过创建二层网络（Layer 2）和以太坊从1.0向2.0的过渡，以及分片（sharding）的概念，可以大幅提高处理能力和交易速度。

区块链技术在供应链管理中的未来发展如何？

区块链技术不仅是供应链可追溯性的未来，也是采购交易、多方供应链管理和支付的未来。随着技术的进步和障碍的克服，预计将在供应链管理中发挥更大的作用。

为什么供应链管理需要同时关注可追溯性和隐私？

可追溯性对于消费者了解产品来源和质量至关重要，而隐私保护则确保了供应链中敏感信息的安全，如库存量和分销点的具体数据，这些信息不需要对所有人公开。

Outlines

00:00

🚀 区块链技术在供应链透明度中的应用现状

Paul Brody，EY的区块链领导者，讨论了区块链技术在实现供应链透明度方面的进步。他提到，区块链技术已经从试点阶段发展到大规模生产，尤其在透明度和可追溯性方面取得了显著进展。目前，区块链被用于各种产品，从葡萄酒到疫苗的原材料追踪。此外，Brody还提到了使用非同质化代币（NFTs）和智能合约来增强供应链管理，以及通过以太坊改进提案（EIP）来实现位置追踪和数据的标准化。他还解释了区块链中不可变数据和可变数据的区别，以及如何通过链下存储和URL更新来处理可变数据。

05:00

🌐 区块链技术的能源效率和NFT在供应链中的应用

讨论了区块链和加密货币面临的能源密集型批评，特别是比特币的能源消耗问题。Brody指出，他们使用的是以太坊和以太坊二层网络Polygon，这些网络比比特币更节能，并且正在从工作量证明（Proof of Work）转向权益证明（Proof of Stake），这将进一步降低能耗。此外，他解释了NFT在供应链中的应用，NFT可以用来代表独特的资产，如啤酒批次，并讨论了智能合约在创建自主供应链方面的潜力。

10:02

🔍 区块链技术面临的挑战和未来发展

Paul Brody讨论了区块链技术在供应链管理中成熟和广泛应用的障碍。他提到，需要提高对可追溯性的接受度，改善隐私处理，并使更多的参与者能够轻松地登录和集成，例如通过EDI和SAP集成。此外，他还提到了区块链的扩展性和交易处理速度问题，以及正在通过创建二层网络和以太坊从1.0向2.0的过渡来解决这些问题。Brody对区块链技术在供应链管理中的未来发展持乐观态度。

Keywords

💡区块链技术

区块链技术是一种分布式账本技术，它通过加密和链式数据结构确保数据的不可篡改性和透明性。在视频中，区块链技术被讨论为实现供应链透明度和安全追踪的一种手段，特别是在供应链管理中的应用，如追踪原材料到成品的过程。

💡供应链透明度

供应链透明度指的是在整个供应链过程中，从原材料采购到最终产品交付，所有环节的信息都能够被清晰地追踪和监控。视频中提到，区块链技术在提高供应链透明度方面取得了很大进展，尤其是在追踪和溯源方面。

💡智能合约

智能合约是一种自动执行、控制或文档化法律事件和行动的计算机程序。在视频中，智能合约被提及作为实现自主供应链的关键技术，它们可以自动响应条件变化，如自动重新订购库存。

💡非同质化代币（NFT）

NFT是一种代表独特资产所有权的区块链代币，每一枚NFT都是独一无二的。视频中提到，NFT可以用来代表如啤酒批次这样的独特资产，通过NFT可以追踪和管理供应链中的特定批次产品。

💡以太坊

以太坊是一个开源的区块链平台，它允许开发者创建和部署智能合约和去中心化应用。视频中提到以太坊，特别是其二层网络Polygon，因其较高的能源效率而被用于供应链问题。

💡工作量证明（Proof of Work）

工作量证明是一种共识机制，要求参与者通过解决复杂的数学难题来证明其工作量，从而获得创建新区块的权利。视频中讨论了比特币使用的工作量证明机制因其能源消耗而受到批评。

💡权益证明（Proof of Stake）

权益证明是一种区块链共识机制，其中新区块的创建者是被随机选择的，选择的概率与其持有的货币数量和时间成比例。视频中提到以太坊正从工作量证明转向权益证明，这将大幅提高能源效率。

💡自主供应链

自主供应链指的是利用技术如区块链和智能合约，实现供应链的自动化和去中心化管理。在视频中，自主供应链被描述为供应链管理的未来，其中智能合约可以自动执行任务，减少人工干预。

💡数据不可变性

数据不可变性意味着一旦数据被写入区块链，它就不能被更改或删除。视频中讨论了区块链上的数据分为不可变数据和可变数据，不可变数据如产品的历史记录，而可变数据如产品当前位置可以通过链下存储和URL更新。

💡层二层网络（Layer 2）

层二层网络是建立在主区块链之上的协议，旨在提高主链的交易处理速度和降低成本。视频中提到，通过使用层二层网络如Polygon，可以显著提高交易速度并降低成本，从而解决区块链的扩展性问题。

💡隐私保护

隐私保护在供应链管理中指的是保护敏感信息不被未授权的第三方访问。视频中提到，随着供应链透明度的提高，需要更成熟的隐私处理方法，以确保消费者可以看到他们关心的信息，同时保护公司的商业机密。

Highlights

区块链技术在供应链透明度和安全追踪方面取得了显著进展，特别是在透明度和可追溯性方面。

区块链技术已经从试点阶段发展到大规模生产应用，涉及从原材料到成品的各个阶段。

区块链正在用于追踪各种产品，包括葡萄酒、疫苗、原材料和食品。

区块链在工业应用中已成为最大的业务之一。

公司正在尝试新的方法，如创建代币和NFTs，以增强产品追溯性。

通过创建NFT，每个批次的啤酒都有其独特的标识，增强了产品的独特性和可追溯性。

区块链技术正在实现位置追踪，通过以太坊改进提案(EIP)来标准化位置元数据。

区块链可以实现不可变数据和可变数据的结合，以展示产品的历史和当前状态。

区块链记录不可变，但可以通过链下存储和URL更新来处理可变数据。

以太坊比比特币能效高90倍，并且正在向权益证明(Proof of Stake)转型，进一步提高能效。

区块链技术面临的能源密集型批评主要集中在比特币上，而以太坊和Polygon等正在通过技术创新解决这一问题。

非同质化代币(NFTs)在供应链跟踪中的应用，代表了产品的独特性和所有权。

智能合约可以自动响应条件变化，实现供应链的自动化管理。

区块链技术有助于创建自主供应链，通过智能合约实现自我组织和管理。

区块链技术面临的挑战包括提高对可追溯性的接受度、隐私保护的成熟度以及参与者的易接入性。

为了提高易接入性，正在开发EDI和SAP集成，以便企业系统能够安全、私密地连接到区块链。

区块链的扩展性和交易处理速度正在通过二层网络解决方案和以太坊2.0的转变得到改善。

二层网络解决方案可以降低交易成本并提高处理速度，而以太坊2.0和分片技术将进一步增加网络的容量。

尽管区块链技术在供应链管理方面正在成熟，但仍有许多工作要做以实现更广泛的应用。

Transcripts

[Music]

is blockchain technology the answer to

achieving supply chain transparency

my guest is paul brody blockchain leader

of ey hello paul

hi there thanks for having me and thank

you for being with me so what is the

current status of blockchain

as a means of achieving transparent and

secure end-to-end tracking and supply

chains

so the current status is actually that

it's making a lot of progress and

particularly with regard to transparency

and traceability it's moving along very

nicely we've gone over the last couple

of years from hey let me do a little

pilot i want to do a proof of concept to

now into large scale production we're

into large scale production with some

nuance as well so we're starting to do

things like build materials modeling

merging raw materials into finished

goods tracking lots we're doing

everything from bottles of wine to

vaccines raw materials

food so it's become a really big

business

and uh it's it's uh it's probably in

terms of industrial applications our

single largest business

well that's that's pretty impressive so

you're saying that in many companies or

in many instances it's beyond the pilot

stage

oh absolutely it's in full production uh

it's moving at scale companies are even

experimenting with sort of new ways of

doing things so early on for example we

did things that were sort of immature

like we would notarize documents

tracking and implementation but right

now where we are is we are creating

tokens we're creating nfts peyroni italy

is a really good example we create a new

nft with each batch of beer so we cannot

just have like we can have product

traceability batch traceability right

it's maturing it's matured beyond like

i'm just time stamping a document and

creating history and then we're also

starting to do things like location

tracking so we've just submitted an eip

what's called the ethereum improvement

proposal

to do a couple of things number one to

track locations standard metadata base

so you can track the location of an item

that represents it

and then secondly

we've created a standardized model of

attaching a url or a uri

that supports both mutable and immutable

data

so we can have immutable data like this

is a batch of beer was produced at this

time and we can also have mutable data

like it's in this warehouse at this

location so uh we're starting to get

quite sophisticated in our

implementation of tradability i don't

even know where to begin with all the

questions i have about that i i first of

all i thought that immutable was was the

whole point of blockchain uh that the

data it cannot be changed uh once it

goes up on the blockchain but you're

saying that necessarily isn't the case

if the data needs to be changed it can't

be right

so the blockchain record can't be

changed but let's say i have let's say

create a record of a batch of beer for

peroni and i put this on the blockchain

right now that there's immutable things

about that record like the history what

happened to it etc but there's also

things that change from time to time

like where is it located uh which

distributor has it and things like that

so

and when you look at a token on the

blockchain you'd like to see both the

immutable history data and the current

status and so what we've done is we've

tried to create a way where you can

access both the stuff that needs to be

immutable that doesn't change that is is

immutable and doesn't change the stuff

that's up to date that stuff can be

continuously updated so that's our i see

does this involve the participation of

miners in order to place uh place

something in a bl on a block

every every block every transaction

involves the use of miners but when

you're updating mutable data what you're

actually doing is you're updating a url

with off chain storage and the mutable

data points you to that off chain store

as it gets continuously updated so

that's how we try to handle things like

the split between immutable data that we

don't ever want change and we want this

permanent record of that stuff really

goes on chain as a transaction and

mutable data there we want to point her

to that data but that data can change

over time

you know recently blockchain and also

more specifically cryptocurrency have

come under a lot of criticism for the

incredible energy uh intensiveness of

this technology is that still the case

is that being solved in any way when

blockchain has is related to supply

chain issues

uh yeah so almost all the criticism and

discussion of this is centered on

bitcoin which is not what we use we use

ethereum and we use an ethereum layer

two called polygon

ethereum itself is something like 90

times more sort of energy efficient than

bitcoin and uh that in turn uh is in

shifting to something called proof of

stake from proof of work that in turn

will make it again 99 more efficient

than it currently is so the carbon

footprint issue is i think it's an

intermittent one and it is it's a

transient issue for supply chain on

ethereum it's a bit more of a

substantial issue for bitcoin

and that's going to be addressed it's

going to have to be addressed by

renewable energy inputs into the mining

process is proof of state an actual or

does it make sense as a replacement for

proof of work because does that not

favor those who already have the

greatest share of of assets and they can

control what's going on on the

blockchain because they have the bigger

stake

uh yes although it is a still a

relatively decentralized system and will

become more so and then you can also

look at the layer twos which are proof

of stake based and are a secondary layer

so you you have a more

equal access into those so i feel pretty

optimistic that it's not there's no risk

of like a 51 attack in the ethereum

ecosystem at least that i see right now

you reference nfts non-fungible tokens

which of course have been in the news

for other reasons works of art and

little clips of videos and things like

that i'm sure that's not what we're

talking about here what is owned in a

blockchain that is created for supply

chain tracking when an nft is involved

you're owning a piece of code but but

what exactly are you owning and why does

nfts come in why do nfts come into the

picture at all

so non-fundable tokens are really can be

used for any kind of unique asset so if

you think about a batch of beer it's it

is a batch of beer and in theory like a

beer you know your beer from your your

system should change taste the same all

the time but in reality each batch is

you know slightly unique and for health

and safety and traceability reasons you

want to keep track of that when you own

an nft in that circumstance you just

have a trucking deal it's not like

ownership of the beer itself

what we do want to get to them

is

nfcs and tokens that represent not just

the trades ability but the ownership in

the location because traceability is

nice but if i want to manage my supply

chain effectively i really want to have

i want to have traceability i want to

have supply chain management i want to

have inventory management i believe

blockchain isn't just the future

traceability it's the future of

procurement transactions

future of multi-party supply chain

management to do that that token

represents the location and the

ownership your reference do you not to

the notion of an autonomous supply chain

the use of smart contracts where does

blockchain come in in creating this

so-called autonomous supply chain what

for that matter is it an autonomous

supply chain

so i've been working in supply chains

for some time i was part of some of the

early work i2 technologies it was a lot

of fun i remember uh asking one of my

colleagues so beyond i said the client

keeps talking about excel is there like

a supply chain planning system that has

the same name of the spreadsheet like no

no that's the spreadsheet they're

talking about they're running their 20

billion dollar supply chain on a

spreadsheet

and we've we've improved but

we're still very manually and

what i think would be really fantastic

is smart contracts can do things in

video smart contracts is that they can

do things automatically on their own in

response to conditions so imagine you

have a smart contract that's looking

over an inventory position right it's

got a min it's got a max it's got an

economic order quantity when it falls

below the minimum it can just say hey i

want to reorder and it can do it

automatically and when i think about

you know some of the crowd source and

really modern supply chains that we're

seeing evolve today the thing that's

exciting for me is these things are

these things are not top down driven

right if you think about car ride

sharing services or apartment sharing

services they're bottom-up driven right

they're driven by the individual

participants we can make

individual buffers and storage locations

in the supply chain in that sense

autonomous with smart contracts they can

reorder for themselves within

we can have self-organizing automated

autonomous supply chains

what obstacles stand in the way

of blockchain becoming a mature and

widely used technology for this purpose

that we're talking about today

so i think there's a couple of things

first of all we've got to get more

comfortable with the traceability right

uh secondly we've got to to improve and

mature the privacy component right when

you're doing traceability because you

want the consumer to see that you had

uh um organic inputs into your supply

chain that's something you want

everybody to see what you don't want

people to see is how many cases of beer

you have in each particular walmart or

safeway or whole foods right so we need

more mature handling and privacy um we

need uh the ability for more and more

participants to log in and integrate

easily so we've been working on things

like edi integration so much of the

world already depends on edi it would be

really important and useful and we're

prioritizing edi integration sap

integration so that you can plug your

enterprise system

directly onto the blockchain move data

around with privacy with security and

tie these together business contracts

and payments so there's still a huge

amount of work to be done even though

this business is starting to mature

really nicely in quite a few ways what

about the issue of scale we hear that

getting stuff on the blockchain it's a

time-consuming process and then the the

speed of transactions is quite slow

so

there are there are there's their scale

and transaction processing speed which

have both historically been issues

they're both being addressed in

different ways so

the first way in which they're being

with the creation of layer twos so what

layer two solutions do in the world of

ethereum is they allow me to take

uh a a if you think of ethereum the main

public ethereum blockchain is the layer

one on the second layer it can batch up

a huge number of transactions push them

all at once onto the network or just

hold them in the secondary layer so the

layer twos they're not quite as

but they're anchored to the main

blockchain they can handle really fast

processing times at very low costs

that's one big improvement and for

example we're working with a layer 2 of

polygon we're doing quite a bit of work

with them that's that's reduced our

transaction cost by 90 over the last few

weeks as we switch that on

the second thing that's happening is

ethereum itself is undergoing a

transition from 1.0 to 2.0 that's going

to hugely increase the capacity and then

within the 2.0 roadmap there's a concept

called sharding which allows for

multiple networks to operate together in

a way that that further multiplies the

scale so

i feel confident that there's a

scale

that's

larger and faster than the rate at which

transaction volumes are

at the moment

all right well much more to be said on

this topic in future but right now paul

brody of ey thank you so much for

helping us understand just where

blockchain is is technology for

visibility for supply chain management

for the autonomous supply chain thanks

very much for being with me today really

appreciate it

thank you thanks for having me