As I investigated yesterday within the advertising industry, blockchain technology can be transformative for any industry, and in particular, those that currently suffer from a lack of transparency.
Today, I learned about Bext360, a company that is using blockchain plus some nifty AI to create a more transparent supply chain for coffee beans (Is there a more stereotypical hipster+techie company to start? ).
In short, they have collection machines directly in communities that grow coffee beans. The farmers deposit their beans into the machine, which then analyzes them for quality, and immediately pays the farmer (electronically) for their crop. This transaction is immediately recorded on the blockchain, and thus is not susceptible to "revision" by greedy or manipulative middle-men. This collection step alone is extremely important for small farmers, as they are no longer harassed or swindled by collection middle-men.
Then, along each step of the beans becoming coffee, details are recorded on the blockchain such that when you get your $20 cup of fair trade coffee, you can know exactly which farm produced the bean, how long it was baked and at what temperature, how much money went to the farmer vs the distributors, etc. For now, the majority of that data is helpful in ensuring fair trade, however, it is very easy to see how this translates to many other industries.
For instance, we can all remember stories about terrible labor practices that were being perpetrated by large multinational companies (Apple, Nike, H&M come to mind). Most of the time, these companies don't even know which specific factory or craftsmen made their product as their supply chain includes hundreds of different contracts, who then contract out work to hundreds of even smaller companies. Having technology that permanently records the exact journey each piece of clothing, computer chip, or shoe made before reaching consumers can instantly help shed light on where there may be problems in the supply chain.
However, one part that shouldn't be ignored from this story is how many jobs will be cut out along the way. While the middlemen who were collecting and selling coffee beans are perhaps not always the most truthful, they represent 1,000s of jobs that are now being automated by a machine. It is not hard to envision that almost every step along the process will eventually be automated (self-driving trucks, machine-run baking, machine-brewed coffee...etc.) The future is coming fast, are we ready?