Blockchain

Currently there are many optimistic expectations for the new and still little understood technology “blockchain”. This paper takes a critical stance and analyses the potential of blockchains in supply chain management (SCM). In the context of SCM, the application of blockchains promises transparency and traceability. It turns out that the expectations are not always met, because blockchains lose many of their positive characteristics when used in SCM. This is mainly due to the fact that both a digital level (information) and a physical level (goods) exist. In the original application area of blockchains - cryptocurrencies - only the digital level exists. In any case, blockchain technology (as well as every other technology) will not be able to solve the coordination problems within supply chain networks without the individual companies being willing to implement expensive IT interfaces and share their information.

Due to the advancing digitalization of business sectors and increasing competitive pressures, industrial companies are forced to promote their own digital transformation to sustain on the market. Here, the literature regards the CFO as a key corporate function to induct digitization initiatives within organizations. The blockchain technology, due to its features of transparency, immutability and cryptography combined with its ability to coordinate data flows of e. g. the IoT or AI, constitutes a suitable instrument for the CFO to meet the requirements of the Industry 4.0. The results are improvements of business processes in regard to efficiency and automation, a relocation of the CFO’s strategic role, improvements of CFO-relevant KPIs through integrating machines into payment networks as well as the emergence of integrated business ecosystems facilitating new forms of inter-organizational collaboration.

Blockchain technology attracted a great deal of attention with its first application Bitcoin. In addition to the multitude of practical solutions, initiatives and research efforts of the industry, the number of scientific publications on the topic of blockchain is comparatively low. Right now, there is a lack of universal standards and uniform terminology. One way of documenting blockchain technology could be a morphological box. In addition to the advantage of clarity, this type of information structuring offers further advantages that can be considered helpful in creating a comprehensive overview. In order to create such a morphological box, various features of the blockchain technology must be identified and described in detail. One of these features is the “business model”, for which the 4 different characteristics “infrastructure provider”, “platform provider”, “system integrator” and “application provider” have been identified.

The digital transformation continues to progress. In the course of this digital change, new technologies are constantly being developed and topics such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics or blockchain are moving into the focus of companies and the general public. Blockchain technology attracted a great deal of attention with its first application Bitcoin.

Our production, logistics and communication networks are becoming increasingly complex. More and more information has to get from sender to receiver in an increasing speed. In this interconnected and digital world, more people, companies, machines and products interact with each other. Each of these network participants has specific characteristics that describe its identity. On the basis of these digital identity it is possible to connect the entities directly with each other.

A powerful cross-organizational collaboration within the global value chain will continue to be a major competitive advantage in the future. The way supply chains are managed today will no longer be sufficient tomorrow. Blockchain technology makes it possible to technologically map intermediary functions without manifesting the market power of just one central platform (intermediary). On the basis of Blockchain-technology, trusting (data-) networks are created across company boundaries. The technology will not solve all operational problems; however, it may help to secure processes and simplify communication.

Blockchain technology - a distributed ledger in which transactions of all kinds of values can be carried out securely, transparently and consensually without trust in a central authority - is a socio-technical innovation that has the potential to enable new business models and make existing business models obsolete. While most applications today exist in the financial sector (e.g., payment processing), the technology is suitable for various industrial applications, especially in the area of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This article uses three propositions and various concrete examples to shed light on the possible applications of blockchain technology for new IoT business models.