What is blockchain? To put it quite simply, a blockchain is a ledger that is distributed. Since the rise of Bitcoin in 2008, blockchain technology has evolved and made a name for itself across global supply chains, healthcare, financial services and many other industries.
It is no surprise that innovators and industry leaders are looking for ways to integrate blockchain into their businesses as the benefits are significant. It not only provides better security and transparency but also increases efficiency and traceability.
Security is one of the main benefits of blockchain technology. Due to its decentralised nature, blockchain brings the opportunity to change how critical information is shared and stored. Information stored on-chain is encrypted end-to-end and can’t be altered, preventing unauthorised activity and fraud.
Blockchain’s greatest asset is its transparency. As previously mentioned, blockchain is a distributed ledger, which means all participants see identical information. The shared version can only be updated through consensus and is monitored with a time and date stamp, providing complete, immutable transaction history.
Errors made in documentation can be devastating to businesses, particularly in the pharma industry, and it is why efficiency is a critical ingredient that needs to be optimised. When using traditional, paper-heavy processes, human error is more likely to occur. Blockchain eliminates this by removing the middleman, enabling complex transactions to be completed faster and with little room for mistakes. When everyone has access to the same information, trust is established and helps build a streamlined process.
A supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry is highly complex and it can be difficult to trace transactions from manufacturer to distributor. Utilising blockchain technology, an audit trail is made and shows where an asset came from and every stop it made on its journey.
The Veratrak platform is a GxP Compliant SaaS tool that facilitates secure document collaboration between supply chain partners, backed by our award winning Blockchain technology. Using the platform, healthcare and life science companies and their supply chain partners can securely share data across partner networks, gaining visibility into collaborative business processes. Veratrak can also be integrated with internal data systems, like ERP or QMS systems, to further improve the visibility in the exchange of quality and product data. Clients can leverage Veratrak’s custom data reporting to monitor KPIs specific to the partner’s goals to drive continuous improvement across their supply chain.
You might be wondering, what’s next for blockchain? With the technology being explored and slowly implemented worldwide, it is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ businesses will understand its potential and take advantage of its benefits to improve internal and external operations.
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