{"id":727,"date":"2018-06-11T05:14:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T05:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kusuaks7\/?p=332"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:34:14","slug":"blockchains-role-in-the-produce-supply-chain-part-three-specific-capabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/fintech\/blockchains-role-in-the-produce-supply-chain-part-three-specific-capabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockchain&#8217;s Role in the Produce Supply Chain: Part Three &#8211; Specific Capabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"727\" class=\"elementor elementor-727\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-789ee7af elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"77237\" data-id=\"789ee7af\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5934203b\" data-eae-slider=\"96859\" data-id=\"5934203b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-440f921a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"440f921a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong><em>Ready to learn Blockchain?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/training\/courses\">Browse courses<\/a>\u00a0like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/training\/courses\/blockchain-for-finance-professionals\">Blockchain for Finance Professionals<\/a> developed by industry thought leaders and Experfy in Harvard Innovation Lab.<\/em><\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4b37707 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"74581\" data-id=\"4b37707\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c4a901e\" data-eae-slider=\"86113\" data-id=\"c4a901e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7447abc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7447abc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/blockchains-rol--in-the-produce-supply-chain-part-one-traceability-and-blockchain\">Part One\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/blockchains-role-in-the-produce-supply-chain-part-two-freshness-and-safety\">Part Two\u00a0<\/a>of this series, we discussed different approaches to achieving traceability, as well as the data and capabilities required for improving freshness and safety. Here in part three, we cover blockchain-specific capabilities and attributes.\u00a0\u00a0 <i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zestlabs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Blockchains-Role-in-the-Produce-Supply-Chain.pdf\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0<\/a><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2c0d8e2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"3359\" data-id=\"2c0d8e2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-501868c\" data-eae-slider=\"25351\" data-id=\"501868c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-727c3c7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"727c3c7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><h3><strong>Blockchain\u2019s Role<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-358d1b0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"40254\" data-id=\"358d1b0\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5dba3b3\" data-eae-slider=\"31188\" data-id=\"5dba3b3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c59f81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7c59f81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><h4><strong>Blockchain-specific Capabilities<\/strong><\/h4><\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e9ecb25 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"63331\" data-id=\"e9ecb25\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-35005e8\" data-eae-slider=\"53626\" data-id=\"35005e8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ee412e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2ee412e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEverything that has been described above can be and is done today by a centralized cloud-based system without the need for blockchain. However, recording the various transactions, HACCP steps, and temperature readings onto a blockchain can add trust and additional capabilities to the system:\n<ul>\n \t<li><em><u>Increased Security and Higher Availability<\/u><\/em>\u2014With decentralization and embedded encryption, blockchain can be much harder to hack or bring down, provided there are a sufficiently large number of participating nodes executing the validation and storage. This strength comes at a cost, as there is now much more redundant storage and encryption processing required.<\/li>\n \t<li><em><u>Tamper-resistance<\/u><\/em>\u2014Blockchains are virtually tamper-proof once the data is written and validated.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d954120 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"47998\" data-id=\"d954120\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-41f0f29\" data-eae-slider=\"59236\" data-id=\"41f0f29\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-908cbdc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"908cbdc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe confidence in the data thereby rests on the strength of the frontend consensus algorithms used and any protections in place to ensure valid data is being written in the first place. One approach is to have the data digitally signed by the edge devices originating them, and ensure those devices are fully secured<a name=\"ftn1Return\"><\/a><sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A0E9C92C-3048-78A9-2F79-28A96A136BCB#ftn1\" rel=\"noopener\">1<\/a><\/sup>with secure boot and update mechanisms, trusted path\/encrypted data streams, access controls, and anti-tampering mechanisms in place.<a name=\"ftn2Return\"><\/a><sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A0E9C92C-3048-78A9-2F79-28A96A136BCB#ftn2\" rel=\"noopener\">2<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Another is algorithms that detect malfeasance (as discussed earlier for tampering with temperature tags). These\u00a0<em>irregularity detection algorithms<\/em>\u00a0are critical to revealing potentially inaccurate readings caused by intentional gaming of the system (like putting a temperature sensor into cold water) or simply sloppy execution (like forgetting to turn on the temperature recorder as soon as a pallet has been built in the field) at any point in the chain. Without irregular\u00adity detection algorithms, you may know with confidence that the data on the blockchain was indeed written by an IoT device, but will miss indicators of physical tampering with the device.<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7267642 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"46179\" data-id=\"7267642\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-07477da\" data-eae-slider=\"86312\" data-id=\"07477da\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60f1f99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"60f1f99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t<li><em><u>Automation via Smart Contracts<\/u><\/em>\u2014Most blockchains have the ability to automatically execute smart contracts when certain conditions are met. While a centralized networked platform can also provide automated execution, smart contracts inherently provide transparency for all parties to see exactly what the rules of automation are. In contrast, the code that drives the automation provided by a centralized platform is typically hidden behind the scenes. Instead, the system normally exposes simple configuration rules to enable users to control the automation. Provided the UI is well designed, these configuration rules are likely to be more intuitive to understand by a non-programmer than the code executed by a smart contract.<\/li>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-beeeeff elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"77796\" data-id=\"beeeeff\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fb9ead8\" data-eae-slider=\"78106\" data-id=\"fb9ead8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8185944 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8185944\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><em><u>Settlement<\/u><\/em>\u2014Blockchains offer the possibility for extremely low-cost payments to be made between buyers and sellers of produce and\/or related services (such as transportation). Until cryptocurrencies become widely accepted, a blockchain will likely require the ability for participants to pay and receive payment in fiat currency, with some sort of guarantee or limit on the effect of fluctuations in cryptocurrency exchange rates.<\/li>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-76aead7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"62761\" data-id=\"76aead7\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-97cb469\" data-eae-slider=\"48692\" data-id=\"97cb469\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-542528a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"542528a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><em><u>Soft Claims<\/u><\/em>\u2014Soft claims can be a source of irritation between retailers and growers. Soft claims are often communicated and acknowledged informally with no requisite paper trail or system-of-record tracking them. Furthermore, retailers sometimes suspect the grower is not always shipping their best product and may be hiding a few bad pallets amongst the good ones. Conversely, growers may suspect the retailer is using some of their soft claims to cover up the retailer\u2019s own inaccurate forecast or poor inventory management, when they simply ordered too many and can\u2019t really use all of the pallets they ordered. With traditional methods, there is no easy way to methodically track soft claims, or to prove or disprove any of these suspicions. This makes disagreements and disputes all too common, thereby harming the relationship. With a system like Zest, the rejected pallet count is tracked and automatically communicated as a soft claim notification to the supplier. It can also be recorded on the blockchain, along with the objective measure of remaining freshness that both parties agree and rely on. By recording soft claims onto the blockchain, along with the ZIPR Code of any rejected pallets, it removes any ambiguity about how many pallets were rejected and the reason why, which can help soothe this sore spot in relationships.<\/li>\n \t<li><em><u>Direct\/Spot Market<\/u><\/em>\u2014A distributed ledger can be used to create Uber-like markets, matching buyers with sellers in near real time, without the need for a middleman. This can be done not only for produce, but also for the trucking services required to transport the produce. These types of direct markets can be done without blockchain, and in fact have already been done for both produce and trucking, although still accounting for only a small percent of total transactions. In both cases, the bulk of produce and transportation has continued to be bought via direct contracts, because such relationships help ensure continuity of supply and quality for the buyer and more reliable demand for the seller. However, direct markets can be useful for spot demand, balancing out last minute demand\/supply mismatches. Blockchain has inherent characteristics to support these direct markets, namely transparency (full audit trail), consensus (key parties have agreed and digitally signed each transaction), immutability (people can\u2019t tamper with the records), smart contracts (automation of payment when certain events occur, such as delivery and passed inspection), and settlement capabilities (with very low or no payment fees). It becomes even more useful when combined with a system like Zest that provides full transparency into processes and conditions. Retailers tend to use spot markets only as a last resort, since they are essentially flying blind, with no relationship and very limited ability to establish trust in the supplier and the quality of the product they are delivering. Freshness and safety data, stored on a blockchain, with the anti-tampering algorithms described above, can help bridge that gap of trust for spot market participants. This should not only make buyers more comfortable, but enable sellers to get full market price for their produce.<\/li>\n \t<li><em><u>Auditability and Restricted Transparency<\/u><\/em>\u2014Most blockchains for commerce will be permissioned\u00a0<em>(see below)<\/em>, so it is not the case that there is full public transparency, where everyone can see everything. In practice, a centralized cloud provider may choose to provide the same level of data transparency as a blockchain, but the blockchain ensures that nothing has been tampered with, thereby increasing auditability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4270444 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"17885\" data-id=\"4270444\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-afb3052\" data-eae-slider=\"72453\" data-id=\"afb3052\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2604c85 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2604c85\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchitectural decisions about what data and functionality to put on the blockchain vs. on the networked SaaS platform will be shaped by the\u00a0<em>much<\/em>\u00a0higher cost of storage and execution on blockchains. This tradeoff is explored further in the section\u00a0<em>On-chain Smart Contracts vs. Off-chain Automation<\/em>\u00a0in Part Four.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-900b458 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"60135\" data-id=\"900b458\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2f78267\" data-eae-slider=\"79755\" data-id=\"2f78267\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bbb9844 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bbb9844\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><h4><strong>Importance of a Blockchain Agnostic Architecture<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dc7f848 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"61915\" data-id=\"dc7f848\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3ed583c\" data-eae-slider=\"88585\" data-id=\"3ed583c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7442fdf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7442fdf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere are many different blockchain and distributed ledger technology stacks emerging,<a name=\"ftn3Return\"><\/a><sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A0E9C92C-3048-78A9-2F79-28A96A136BCB#ftn3\" rel=\"noopener\">3<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0such as Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum (various flavors), R3, Corda, and countless others. We are still in the early days of blockchain and it is too soon to tell who the winners and losers will be. That is especially true for the produce supply chain, where growers and retailers are just starting to learn about this technology and figure out what role it will play for them. They have not yet committed to a specific blockchain technology or implementation. It may turn out that the industry settles into two or three different camps over the long run.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-51e1740 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"47811\" data-id=\"51e1740\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-bfad8a4\" data-eae-slider=\"65251\" data-id=\"bfad8a4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b2b44f8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b2b44f8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFurthermore, even if the same technology is used, there could still be multiple different permissioned blockchains used by different parts of the industry. We could very well end up with a separate blockchain being used by each major retailer, for example. Therefore, it is prudent for growers and retailers to select a solution that is blockchain agnostic; one that is architected to integrate with any of the existing blockchain technologies as well as potential future yet-to-be-developed ones. The platform should also be capable of supporting multiple blockchains integrated onto the same platform, to deal with the likely scenario that not everyone in the industry is using the same chain.\n<h4><strong>Public vs. Permissioned Blockchains<\/strong><\/h4>\nAssurance of the various trading parties\u2019 identities and control over the privacy of transactions are required for most commercial uses of blockchains, including produce supply chains. For those reasons, a permissioned blockchain approach is needed, rather than a public blockchain. The precise definitions of these terms are currently up for dispute,<a name=\"ftn4Return\"><\/a><sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A0E9C92C-3048-78A9-2F79-28A96A136BCB#ftn4\" rel=\"noopener\">4<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0but the table below shows the characteristics of public vs. permissioned blockchain as we are using the terms in this paper.\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"6\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\"><strong>Public<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\"><strong>Permissioned<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>Participation<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\">Anyone can participate<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\">By invitation only, vetted either by a central authority, consensus, or other criteria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>Access control<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\">Anyone can read and anyone can write (subject to validation)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\">Read and write access may be restricted to protect privacy of data<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>Identity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\">Pseudonymous<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\">Participants identified, preferably strongly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>Consensus<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\">Typically requires a majority of validator nodes<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\">May be done by a smaller set of nodes, such as stakeholders and\/or knowledge-holders<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"103\"><strong>Control of code<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"264\">Anyone can make changes, but a majority of nodes decide which to keep<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"318\">May be centralized or controlled by a consortium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>Table 1 &#8211; Public vs. Permissioned Blockchain Characteristics<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-445d6a2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"79479\" data-id=\"445d6a2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fc0b229\" data-eae-slider=\"6860\" data-id=\"fc0b229\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32c6910 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"32c6910\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor most transactions in a produce supply chain, the parties cannot be anonymous or pseudonymous. There is a need for ongoing communications about orders, logistics, quality, acceptance test results and rejection, settlements, and other problems. Therefore, the identity of the transacting participants needs to be known and verified. Furthermore, the data about orders, prices, transactions, shipments, and so forth needs to be kept private to the parties involved. For competitive and security reasons, these data cannot be made available to the general public.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e4d4d6b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"20461\" data-id=\"e4d4d6b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-405b6f1\" data-eae-slider=\"55254\" data-id=\"405b6f1\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f7fb4d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f7fb4d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA scalable consensus algorithm is needed as well. Since participants have been identified and vetted, the heavyweight consensus approach of bitcoin or other public blockchains is not needed. Instead, digital signatures verifying acceptance of data by a few key stakeholder and knowledge-holder participants is sufficient. For example, a wireless tag reader may read the temperature history of a tag on a pallet, write the data into an off-chain database, and then create a record on the blockchain with a hash of the temperature data and pointer to the data. Ideally this should be done with full end-to-end security (as Zest does), with bi-directional authentication and strong encryption for all tag-to-reader and reader-to-cloud communications.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0ec5584 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"78354\" data-id=\"0ec5584\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f5e7afc\" data-eae-slider=\"59836\" data-id=\"f5e7afc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-395ea0f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"395ea0f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA networked SaaS platform may then read that data, run machine learning-based algorithms to check for potential fraudulent data, and verify that everything appears to be legitimate, and then sign its verification of that data. Finally, the system may ask a worker at that location to visually verify<a name=\"ftn5Return\"><\/a><sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A0E9C92C-3048-78A9-2F79-28A96A136BCB#ftn5\" rel=\"noopener\">5<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0that the specific pallet in question is at that specific location, with a certain number of cases of a specific type of produce.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a3bf57c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"66285\" data-id=\"a3bf57c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b3fbc97\" data-eae-slider=\"85460\" data-id=\"b3fbc97\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-67a0523 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"67a0523\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThus, consensus may be met with just a small number of checks being made to validate the data being written on the blockchain, thereby taking minimal processing power and time, compared with the heavy requirements of say bitcoin\u2019s blockchain. In designing a consensus algorithm, the cost of validation needs to be weighed against the likelihood and consequences of someone tampering with the data. The system could also be designed to let the end users configure the type of consensus required (in essence, defining who needs to sign off on a transaction).\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-42b9e0c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"62875\" data-id=\"42b9e0c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a6db4fe\" data-eae-slider=\"58475\" data-id=\"a6db4fe\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e942a18 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e942a18\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=0F659A1E-3048-78A9-2F1C-D423F82C8FD1\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Part Four<\/a>\u00a0of this series we look at automation and the role of smart contracts vs. off-chain automation.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bd5afd5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"24053\" data-id=\"bd5afd5\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-63e06c6\" data-eae-slider=\"2928\" data-id=\"63e06c6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f4aff5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6f4aff5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><a name=\"ftn1\"><\/a><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0For example, Zest knows the location of every edge device it uses, including which subnet it should be on. If a piece of equipment, such as an IoT tag reader, gets unplugged, an alert is generated. Mobile equipment, such as devices used to take <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">measurement<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"> in the field, use GPS to verify that the user is at the right location.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><a name=\"ftn2\"><\/a><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0For more details on securing edge devices, see\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=A984E988-3048-79ED-99A3-91056DDCCEDC\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The IoT Security Imperative: Device Security Requirements<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4ad84c9 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"67252\" data-id=\"4ad84c9\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-56612ca\" data-eae-slider=\"55532\" data-id=\"56612ca\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc0394d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cc0394d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><a name=\"ftn3\"><\/a><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0Some of the major technology companies, notably IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon\/AWS are offering various development tools and environments that leverage these various blockchain technologies. They all seem to be hedging their bets as well, offering \u2018all of the above\u2019 options for different blockchain technologies.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><a name=\"ftn4\"><\/a><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0There is currently a lack of broad consensus on precise definitions for these terms (including also the terms \u2018private\u2019 and \u2018consortium\u2019 blockchains). That is not surprising given the early stage of discovery and experimentation we are at in deploying various flavors of <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">blockchain<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">, beyond cryptocurrencies. We expect that lack of consensus to diminish over the next year or two, as people start to settle on specific definitions. We saw a similar pattern when the term \u2018cloud\u2019 first started becoming popular. At <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">first<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"> there was a lot of handwaving and no universally accepted definition of what cloud meant. Within a couple of years, reasonably precise definitions coalesced and became widely accepted for specific categories of cloud services, such as\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.clresearch.com\/research\/detail.cfm?guid=EA719DE0-3048-79ED-999B-258ADAA69396\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS<\/a>.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><a name=\"ftn5\"><\/a><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0In practice, this would likely be integrated into the existing receiving process, rather than creating a new extra step.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<hr \/>\n\n&nbsp;\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recording the various transactions, HACCP steps, and temperature readings onto a blockchain can add trust and additional capabilities to the system. The data about orders, prices, transactions, shipments, and so forth needs to be kept private to the parties involved. Consensus may be met with just a small number of checks being made to validate the data being written on the blockchain. Here we describe specific capabilities blockchain brings to a produce supply chain, such as tamper-resistance, automation\/smart contracts, settlement, and record of soft claims, auditability, and enabling uber-like spot markets. We also touch on why a permissioned blockchain is needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":24096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[98],"ppma_author":[1882],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","tag-blockchain"],"authors":[{"term_id":1882,"user_id":298,"is_guest":0,"slug":"bill-mcbeath","display_name":"Bill McBeath","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"McBeath","first_name":"Bill","job_title":"","description":"Bill McBeath, Co-founder of ChainLink&#039;s research group, is Chief Research Officer at ChainLink Research and leads it&rsquo;s research efforts, as well as the procurement, strategic sourcing, design collaboration, and online marketplaces practices. With more than 20 years of experience in a variety of roles as a business and technology researcher and consultant, high tech executive, and software architect, he is recognized as a leading expert in extended-enterprise business models."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}