Using Blockchain to Drive Company Transparency
Blockchain technology is becoming a household term, but not necessarily something that those who hear it understand. It’s primarily talked about in the same breath as cryptocurrency transactions like those with Bitcoin, but the technology itself is more for securing information rather than being related to money.
With blockchain, and it’s heralded abilities to defend against cybercrime, many different sectors can now have more secure and transparent transactions with things like data, digital IDs, data science information sharing, and healthcare information.
In addition to the security, and even more appealing to some, blockchain also makes it very easy to keep transaction transparent, and away from a centralized bank. In addition to the transparency, the lack of centralization also allows for real-time transactions, even across borders, rather than (with money as an example) waiting 4 days to get a refund that really should be instant. Here are some ways that blockchain’s transparency can be used at a company for things outside of monetary transactions.
Blockchain Defined
The inner workings of blockchain technology are intricate, to say the least, and simply can’t be defined at a granular level in an article of this size. In the simplest terms, it allows online transactions to be verifiable from many angles, decentralized away from regular banking, extremely difficult to manipulate from a hacker perspective, and every penny being accounted for with transparency.
In addition, blockchain transactions can be “programmed” with things like refunds and commissions that automatically take place after a given stipulation (like the aforementioned refunds), taking out time and costs that formerly would have had to be manually done to get consumers their refunds/commissions.
Supply Chain Transparency
Transparency in the supply chain makes it a lot easier to find where items are in real time, and also allows for corporate governance to take place more fairly, as tie-ups and gaps in the supply chain can be more easily tracked and pinned on the right department. Depending on the business model, consumers could also view the supply chain transactions in real time to see when their products are going to be finished, and ultimately when they will arrive.
Data Sharing Transparency
Security is the most important thing when talking about data sharing, but once again, the transparency of blockchain makes it the “icing on the cake” when comparing secure means of data movement. Just with the theoretical product in the supply chain, data can be tracked via blockchain, and every single instance of access to said data can be viewed in real time, allowing companies to know whom exactly is access what, and why.
Tax Compliance/Transparency
Taxes are, in a sense, a form of a monetary transaction, but being able to pinpoint and access every taxable dollar earned, and non-taxable dollar spent (while also keeping the information super secure from the hacking world), tax time can be faster, and everyone who “needs to know” can have access to the transactions that were deemed taxable and be able to follow the money to the hands of the government.
The Bottom Line
So all of this talk of transparency is great, but why is it important? Morally, transparency should be important during all business transactions, monetary or otherwise… but generally, it is not that important. This is not always the total fault of the companies, as the centralized nature of banks make it necessity in most cases, but regardless of fault, the ability to be more transparent should be exercised, and blockchain makes that a very easy possibility.
When it comes to customers, the ability to offer complete transparency of the inner workings of your company will, very quickly, garner their attention and make your company more trustworthy to the customer overnight. That trust spreads quickly, and that is why blockchain’s transparency should, at very least, be discussed at your company.
