New books about technology for supply chain

A boom in new technology for supply chains is flooding the market. How should companies choose the right technology that fits their strategy and supply chains? Below are three recent books that describe how companies should respond in the current transition period and what the weather or not revolutionary technology of Blockchain can mean for supply chains.

By Martijn Lofvers

 

 

 

Transition Point

We live in disruptive times. The world is changing faster than ever before, leaving people dazed, businesses struggling, economies floundering and societies fracturing. But why? Starting with an examination into the drivers of technological change and the social, economic and political factors that both enable or suppress it, Transition Point explains why industrialization happened where and when it did, why progress comes in waves, and why the technologies in the current wave, such as robotics, blockchain and AI, are likely to be the most disruptive of all.
It then addresses the million-dollar question: what’s next? What impact will this wave have on our businesses, our economies and most importantly, on our society? Sean Culey explores how our current trajectory could result in a new golden age, but also how it is just as likely to result in a digital dictatorship of compliance and constant surveillance. Finally, he explains why we may soon see Homo sapiens’ role as the dominant species come to an end. Transition Point explains why this is happening, what it means, and why the decisions we make now will prove to be critical.

‘Transition Point: From Steam to the Singularity’ (2019), by Sean Culey. Published by Troubador Publishing, 800 pages, €19,99

Rating: *****

 

Blockchain and the Supply Chain

Blockchain can transform companies when successfully integrated into existing supply chain ecosystems and practices. The key benefits include dispute resolution, foolproof track and trace, event management, operational as well as financial transparency, speed to market, visibility, elimination of heavy reliance on intermediary, integration of IoT technology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Blockchain and the Supply Chain highlights how to use blockchain as an enabler and key driver for solutions in the end-to-end supply chain. The book examines the business case for blockchain, including increased efficiency of transactions. It also covers the broader set of technologies relevant to supply chains, such as IoT, Big Data and Cyber Security basics and the capabilities they offer. The team of authors look at the evolution of the network, systems and finance, as well as basics of blockchain such as peer-to-peer transactions, consensus-based algorithms and smart contracts. The book includes cases which highlight the opportunities within the different nodes of systems, sales and operations planning and provide practical examples from specific supply chains, such as the movement of temperature-controlled goods, dry goods and precious commodities, as well as general cargo flow.

‘Blockchain and the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies and Practical Applications’ (2019), by Nick Vyas, Aljosja Beije, Bhaskar Krishnamachari. Published by KoganPage, 297 pages, €51,99

Rating: ***

 

Blockchain: The Next Everything

What is blockchain? Why does everyone from tech experts to business moguls to philanthropists believe it is a paradigm-shifting technology, bound to revolutionize society as significantly as the internet? Indeed, why is blockchain touted as The Next Everything?
In this book Stephen P. Williams answers these questions, revealing how cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are just one example among dozens of transformative applications that this relatively new technology makes possible. He interprets the complexity into digestible anecdotes, metaphors, and straightforward descriptions for readers who don’t know tech, and explains all of blockchain’s most important aspects: why this so-called digital ledger is unhackable and unchangeable; how its distributed nature may transfer power from central entities like banks, government, and corporations to ordinary citizens around the world; and what its widespread use will mean for society as a whole.

‘Blockchain: The Next Everything’ (2019), by Stephen P. Williams. Published by Scribner Book Company, 208 pages, €21,99

Rating: **