5 Key Ways Blockchain Can Change The Manufacturing Industry

The only thing contemporary industries can effectively sustain is scalability. The more scalable your business is, the more you will be able to grow your business. Also, it is no hidden fact that out of all the aspects of business, manufacturing is the soul of every business. If you have a strong manufacturing unit, you have got the biggest competitive advantage over your competitors.

To continue, if you are also a business owner, you will also agree with the fact that there is no better way to scale your business than using the latest technology. Different technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, and Blockchain have brought a wave of the digital revolution that is not calming anytime soon. This digital revolution has changed every aspect of the business world and the manufacturing industry is no different.

Moreover, out of all the technological inventions, blockchain seems to be a clear winner in revolutionizing the manufacturing industry for the better. The statistics also validate the same by stating that the market size of blockchain in the manufacturing industry is expected to reach USD 566.2 million by 2025.

This is the reason many key players such as Walmart, Ford, and Unilever are using blockchain technology to enhance the efficiency of their million-dollar businesses. But first, let's have a look at the quick definition of blockchain. To define, a blockchain is a decentralized ledger that assists in keeping track and recording of digital assets of a business network.

To continue, seeing the potential growth and expectations from blockchain technology, it is essential to know the benefits that blockchain can bring to the manufacturing industry. In short, this blog will effectively highlight the 5 crucial ways in which blockchain can transform the manufacturing industry. So let’s dive into the blog without further ado.

5 Ways Blockchain Can Transform The Manufacturing Industry

1. Better Inventory Management

Inventory is the ultimate base on which the whole manufacturing industry relies. If you do not have an efficient inventory management mechanism, the whole point of manufacturing goes to vain. To build a strong inventory management system, blockchain can be your one-stop solution.

To elaborate, blockchain can effectively manage all the operations of manufacturing units precisely. The ability to track all the goods in real-time will give immense power to the manufacturers in terms of making decisions. Based on this real-time information, manufacturers can communicate the estimated delivery dates to other stakeholders. This real-time traceability will also allow manufacturers to ensure that all the deliveries are made on time and all the processes are going on as per the given commitments.

Additionally, blockchain technological ledger can also forecast the demand of products in the future accurately. Using this information, manufacturers will always have an accurate quantity of stock to meet the desired demand. This way, manufacturers can easily optimize the revenue and profitability of the business by reducing the risk of wastage of resources.

2. Automation with smart contracts

We all know that automation has been the new buzzword in the business world. The reason is automation has changed the whole face of the business world pretty dynamically. The biggest advantage of automation is that it takes care of the repetitive and mundane tasks that occur in business operations.

However, we always relate automation with artificial intelligence which is true in every possible sense. But blockchain technology also has the process of automating repetitive tasks but it works under its unique feature called smart contracts.

To define, smart contracts in blockchain refer to transaction protocols or stored procedures that automatically execute the transactions if the predetermined conditions are met as per the contract or agreement.

We all know how hectic those transactions of shipping and receiving invoices are. So, if manufacturers implement the extraordinary feature of smart contracts, they can effectively automate payments once all the required conditions have been met even if they are not available in real-time.

These smart contracts will assist manufacturers by freeing them from the repetitive tasks of creating invoices manually. This will assist in enhancing the overall efficiency of the manufacturing industry. Alongside, keeping employees free from repetitive and mundane tasks will contribute to employee engagement in the workplace as well.

3. Greater Visibility

Manufacturing units do not operate on a single process. Multiple processes compile together and ensure that the manufacturing process is completed with utmost precision and efficiency.

In this process, blockchain technology can effectively keep a record of all the processes that are included in manufacturing units. Right from the making of the product to placing the final name label, blockchain has the efficiency to minutely track all of the processes and ensure complete transparency and visibility in the supply chain management.

To elaborate, with blockchain technology, manufacturers can effectively trace the whole process consisting of all the minute details. So, if anything goes wrong, manufacturers can simply check the ledger and identify at which stage of the manufacturing processes the units went faulty. Effective utilization of this technological advancement will ensure that the final product that reaches the customer is default proof.

This quality assurance process and the blockchains' ability to ensure that all the manufacturing units meet their quality standards will assist in enhancing the overall efficiency of the manufacturing unit.

4. Product lifecycle management

Product lifecycle management is all about how well manufacturers know their products. To identify the efficiency of the product, you need to have data of every process stored with you. And we all know that blockchain is all about data. So, if manufacturers bring blockchain technology into the manufacturing process, they will always have the data to estimate the product cycle of their productions.

Once, manufacturers have the data at their fingertips using the effective ledgers of blockchain, it can assist in predicting the future of the product cycle. Moreover, when the whole data is just a click away, it will also save manufacturers a yielding cost that goes into searching or locating accurate information every time a crisis shows up.

Moreover, based on the whole stored data, manufacturers can also claim the efficiency of their productions to the other stakeholders. Strong and accurate claims based on the data will assist in gaining the trust of other stakeholders related to the product life management of the products. These PLM claims might result in better growth and profitability of the manufacturing units in the long run.

5. Increase data security

With the enhancement of technological advancements, data breaches have become one of the major ethical issues in contemporary workplaces. This is the reason every manufacturing unit or other workplace is becoming more conscious and concerned about how they share information even within the company.

Moreover, every company has its own competitive advantage that makes them different from other companies. Some might have a super efficient distribution process or a competitive advantage in manufacturing processes. So, if you are also a company that holds a competitive advantage in its manufacturing units, then blockchain is even more important for you than others.

To elaborate, blockchain technology can store all your data present in the network in the form of blocks which get secured by a private key or digital signatures of the owner. These private keys ensure that no data can be breached due to which a company might lose its competitive edge over others.

Furthermore, blockchain has the ability to transfer crucial information and documents with its unique feature of decentralization. Decentralization features make sure that no other people can access the information without authorization from the owners' end.

So, blockchain can also result in enhanced data security with the utilization of its unique technology of converting into blocks. Once this technology gets implemented in the manufacturing units, no sort of data can be breached due to technological malfunction.  So, what are you waiting for? If you are also one of the key players in the manufacturing industry or wish to become one, implement blockchain technology into your manufacturing units today to enjoy the tremendous benefits of the latest technological trend.

To encapsulate, blockchain has a really massive potential to change the way the manufacturing industry currently operates. Hence, the need is to effectively understand how the biggest aspect of the business can be transformed using blockchain technology. So, businesses like yours can harness the potential benefits of the blockchain and take their business to the next level.  That being the case, the above-given benefits will effectively assist you in comprehending the extraordinary advantages of blockchain in the manufacturing industry.