Blockchain is already making its mark in a great number of industries, including medical, financial and gaming. But now, a report by auditing giant Deloitte is predicting that the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and retail industries could be next.

New Tech on the Block

The report, entitled ‘New Tech on the Block’ explores a range of use cases, scoring them by added value, and outlines the need for careful planning if blockchain is to succeed as expected in these industries.

Our new insight report explores the potential for blockchain technology to underpin a transformation in the retail and consumer packaged goods value chain. While we fully expect blockchain technology to achieve widespread, mainstream adoption in these sectors sooner rather than later, we firmly believe that long-term, sustainable success is only possible through careful planning and prioritisation of work programmes.

Unsurprisingly, the report highlights supply chain as one of the key areas in which blockchain could have a massive impact. This adds to the ongoing movement towards blockchain adoption in the supply chain industry, as provenance, ethical sourcing and the eradication of fraud have been at the forefront of the industry for some time. And it is clear that blockchain has the ability to tackle these through its immutable distributed ledger technology, which makes fraudulent behavior almost impossible.

Indeed, a Deloitte press release from the 24th May warns of businesses and industries falling behind if they don’t consider the potential applications of blockchain sooner rather than later:

As we enter the ‘age of blockchain’, the retail and CPG sectors are particularly well placed to capitalise on this technology and revolutionise the way many processes are conducted. Businesses that do not consider how blockchain could help are at risk of falling behind competitors. Blockchain technology is expected to achieve widespread, mainstream adoption sooner rather than later. Retail and CPG businesses need to act now and plan for future blockchain adoption, or risk being left in the dust.

– Steve Larke, Technology Consulting Partner, Deloitte.

Image Credit: Deposit Photos