Overview of a Business Problem or Opportunity

This use case is designed to examine the tracking of the supply chain in terms of tracking fake microchips related to a specific geography that indicates to the US Customs that incoming microchips in the survey are counterfeit. Using the Hyperledger DLL to provide automatic tracking, notifications and other alerts, the corresponding users in the channel are updated to the state of the incoming parts (microchips) and can continue. This example of use is a simpler route and tracking chain of custody tracking in the sense that the channel involves five actors playing a role in the criminal role and one "challenge", if not quite mixed up. Because of the huge number of organizations that consider their supply chain, adjustment and a clean supply chain, it is difficult to provide a "one size fits all" approach for tracking the supply chain. Thus, this example of use serves to create new thoughts and provide a direction through which you can gain greater value, specific to their individual organizational requirements for tracking the supply chain in the Hyperledger universe. For the purposes of this particular use case, traceability will include the three "dimensions" indicated below. Three dimensions intersect to varying degrees and are necessary for reliable tracking of the supply chain.

1. Traceability from end to end - the collection of all items necessary for product development for the final delivery of the specified product for product return.

2. Product characteristics - how the product is determined by industry, organizations, consumers, the government. etc.

3. Control problems - ensuring compliance of the trace element with compliance requirements. Identifying the path through which a product breaks from creation to final delivery is the basic design required when detailing parts to track the supply chain. An additional component of this measurement may be the need to monitor the return of the product to its original state depending on the type of product. The complexity of the next end of the cycle increases in comparison with the characteristics of the product. Finally, laws and regulations pertaining to the product in transit should be identified and considered with respect to traceability. Given the wide range of opportunities for the organization's product suite, the product characteristics are different. The range of products is huge. "Products on Earth", such as diamonds, rare earth minerals or minerals from conflict zones, are on one end of the spectrum, on the other ends of the spectrum there is sensitive electronics for tractors and the reactive plane. The following is an example of the complexity of the product characteristics. One organization produces separate electronic parts, such as capacitors and resistors, which are their products. Another organization uses these parts in a printed circuit board for its products. The third company is building a digital display that includes a printed circuit board for its product line. Finally, the tractor manufacturer includes a digital display in a series of trucks for consumer and corporate purchases. Problems with the traceability of the supply chain continue to increase with updates and repairs. In many cases, the product can be upgraded to its software, or it must update parts and assemblies and new parts to fix the failures. Problems associated with improper software updates or malicious code are becoming an increasingly serious threat as technology advances in the field of improvement and automation. Fake parties dispute the reputation of companies because of their inherent nature of unreliability. In this vein, counterfeits cause economic damage to the real manufacturer. Counterfeit parts represent a real threat to the supply chain. "Sometime in the near future the submarine will drown. An air defense missile will explode far from its intended purpose. [sic] is obtained from a fake e-book in the amount of $ 2, tucked deep within the military technology for a billion dollars. " Traceability and its relation to law (for example, regulatory law, international law, etc.) has a profound effect on many products. In the case of diamonds, conflict minerals, or rare earth materials, there are several international agreements and a global law governing these issues. Traceability of these products can mean the difference between supporting terrorist groups or supporting those who need good jobs to support their family. Sustainability of the environment and the desire to ensure the conformity of products or the excess of healthy practice require verification of traceability. Strategies or tracking schemes related to sustainability, intertwined with the industry consortium. Examples of such measures include the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or the UTZ Certification. These consortia provide "a robust chain of storage standards and certification of products from raw materials to the end-use phase".

The current solution

Although there are many supply chain solutions and technologies, the tracking capabilities are targeted to varying degrees, for specific links in the chain, and not over the entire end-to-end supply chain (product creation before the customer's delivery of the product). In fact, during the round table of the Transport and Logistics Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the shipper noted: "... there are" many scattered players, different technologies, many options and no single standard. " This situation aggravates the impossibility of linking the life cycle of the product in the partners' trade networks. The complexity found in the partner network, in the context of tracking, is partially extended due to the different needs of each network member. Depth and correct management definitions are the main component necessary to create a fully functioning functioning network. The requirements for technological compatibility and integration of each partner, necessary to support individual requirements for traceability, lead to the creation of a multitude of information silos that can not support a wider ecosystem.