Transparency is the newest and soon to be the strongest pillar in the manufacturing supply chain.

The
products are being manufactured globally by the know how doesn’t necessarily reach the end user. It is
because before reaching the buyer the goods travel through a huge network of manufacturers,
suppliers, transporters and storage facilities, that participate in the production, design, sales and
delivery.

Therefore, in order to generate trust, it is required that a view of the production and supply of the goods
is to be given to the customer for authentication and verification. Blockchain technology enabled IOT
systems can give that trust and security to the customer by tracking the products journey from
Production line to the doorsteps of the customer.

Current scenario-

The details of the supply chain are stored in multiple databases that can be accessed by handful entities.
Also, clients have no access to these systems therefore they have to rely on the producer and supplier
only for the quality production and timely supply of the products.

Reinventing the manufacturing supply chain

The blockchain can enable a permanent and decentralized way to monitor the supply chain using the
interfaces like Native mobile app for the logistics company and merchants and Web portal for the
supplier, manufacturer and QA team.

The access can be given to all the stakeholder like Purchasing Company, Manufacturing Company,
Suppliers, Logistics Company, Quality Assurance Team.

End-to-end process-

Purchasing company can upload the product requirement on the web portal which will be saved on the
distributed database, the addresses of which can be hashed and stored on the manufacturing
company’s block chain platform. The data will also be time-stamped.

The manufacturing company receives the order from the merchant by accessing the stored data on the
blockchain with a hash address of the file. After accessing the product requirements, the manufacturer
can contact the suppliers to deliver the raw materials.

As soon as the manufacturer adds the details like quantity and type of materials required to the
blockchain, smart contracts trigger and notify suppliers about the new order. The information stored on
the blockchain is traceable therefore the purchasing company can know from where, at what time and
of what quality the raw material is being supplied.

After a supplier gets the details, the next step is to add invoice along with the raw materials images to
keep the stakeholders informed regarding the placed order. After the supplier gets a go ahead from the
quality team the raw material can be shipped and the date and time can be uploaded to the blockchain.
Invoice bill and all the delivery details would be added on the blockchain manufacturing platform, which
will be visible to stakeholders within the network.
Logistic service provider adds parcel details on the blockchain before starting its journey from the
supplier’s warehouse.

After receiving the order from the supplier, the manufacturer would check the quality and quantity of
the materials. If it is found good and can be used for manufacturing, the manufacturer can immediately
make the payment to the supplier. In the supplier’s account, the payment would be automatically
transferred through the regulations built in the Smart Contracts.

During and post production the quality team functions, checking the quality of the product and
uploading the data on the block chain platform which can be accessed by both the manufacturing and
the purchasing company.

Finally, the purchasing company receives the order and post quality check the company can validate the
quality on the block chain which will again trigger an automatic fund transfer to the manufacturer.
Furthermore, the Purchasing company can back trace each and every step in the production process and
can validate the purchase

The blockchain technology has disrupted the whole decentralized information technology paradigm and
has marked the onset of a new era. The manufacturing companies can join the network of smart
manufacturing supply chain and can save money and time while improving the efficiency of the business
process.