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(Solved) Digital Leadership - PDF

   

Added on  2021-06-11

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Business Development
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Digital LeadershipTitle: Blockchain, Identity, traceability, smart contracts capabilities and integrated with value-added services to achieve visibility and gain efficiencies in complex supply chainsExecutive Summary: (150 words)IntroductionDigitalization is transforming nearly every industry with new technologies emerging and findingsolutions to long existing problems. Not only that, but digitalization uses digital technologies tochange business models and create new revenue streams and value-added opportunities(Chapco-Wade, 2018). Digital improvements can also help organisations become more ethicaland sustainable in their operations to align with global environmental, social and governance(ESG) agendas, and building trust with consumers (Henisz, Koller and Nuttall, 2019).The fashion industry is a significant contributor to global environmental and social problems(Kozlowski et al., 2012), due to the large pollutant footprint it leaves throughout the productlifecycle and supply chain operations. Fashion can take on many forms, including fast fashion,which provides consumers with up-to-date fashion trends at a cheap price. The clothes areextremely affordable, making it easy to dispose of them after a few uses (Claudio, 2017). The fastturnover from purchase to waste has increased the environmental impacts of the industry ontothe world. Consumers are aware of the increasing mark that fashion has left, and manyconsumers are shifting their buying preferences to be more sustainable. To do so, trust isrequired between the purchaser and the clothing manufacturer (Granskog et al., 2020). AI andemerging technologies play a role in building and keeping the trust required for sustainablepurchasing. In order for consumers to have a transparent view of the where they are purchasingfrom, technologies like blockchain are increasingly implemented in industry supply chains toincrease traceability, adaptability, scalability, and flexibility for manufacturers and benefittingconsumer purchasing (Singh, 2019).Blockchain creates an element of transparency for both the suppliers and the consumers whenpurchasing. However, new technologies like this one, come with challenges, for example in theimplementation process for organisations and the willingness of use (Singh, 2019). Theimplications for companies utilising this technology can differ for each company, which is whythe adoption of blockchain in industries such as fashion, are moving at a slower pace. Thistechnological shift will build the trust within a supply chain and encourage consumers to buy ina more sustainable fashion.Overview of BlockchainBlockchains are digital ledgers that contain tamper proof information and operate without acentral authority such as a bank (Yaga et al., 2018). This technology enables a community of usersto document important information and transactions in a shared ledger within that community,where once something is recorded, it cannot be changed (Yaga et al., 2018). User information isprotected through the use of public and private keys, that allow for digital signatures to securelyexecute a function within the system (reference, date). There are several functions and purposes
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for Blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, smart contracts, and ledgersystems to conduct deals from business to business (Yaga et al., 2018). Blockchain technology isconstantly changing, where new uses continuously emerge. However, many industries are stilltrying to navigate the technology and find the best potential for its use within the industry.Gartner’s Hype Cycle plots technological innovations on a curve, measuring the expectations fora new technology over time. There are five stages that emerging technologies go through, whichinclude innovation trigger, peak of inflated expectation, trough of disillusionment, slope ofenlightenment and plateau of productivity (see figure 1 below). Yearly trends create movementfor technologies situated on the curve. Currently, Blockchain’s relative position is between thepeak of inflated expectation and the through of disillusionment (Blosch and Fenn, 2018).Blockchain is positioned at this stage, due to the generated hype surrounding blockchain andcryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, new uses of this technology have been discoveredand many eager innovators joined the excitement and buzz surrounding blockchain, but have yetto see the value, as it is not yet widely adopted in many industries (Blosch and Fenn, 2018).Application of Blockchain in Supply ChainsBlockchain technology has promising application potential for supply chain management (Vishaland Abhinav, 2020). It creates a transparent and tamperproof network for flow of informationand transactions. The fashion and garment industry is one that has complex supply chains in placeto keep up with consumer demand (reference). Many companies secure economies of scale andcheap production methods by outsourcing parts of the supply chain to countries like China(reference). However, by increasing outsourcing, the supply chain becomes more complex, andthe transactions involve increased information flows, inventory flows and financial flows (Vishaland Abhinav, 2020). The implementation of Blockchain applications can help organisationsrecognise an error and where it originated from. With the use of unique identifiers or digitalsignatures to sign the blocks that are added to the blockchain. This creates a chronological stringof blocks that capture the details of a transaction, making it more secure and trustworthy forconsumers and organisations (reference).Furthermore, there is currently no way to measure an organisations ESG rating, similar to howorganisations measure business performance (Finastra, 2020). This can be a barrier forcompanies, suppliers and consumers looking for sustainable substitutes that do not harm theplanet. Due to this lack of an existing rating model, some companies engage in greenwashing.Greenwashing occurs when a company claims to be sustainable and friendly for the environment,when they are not, and likely actually contributing to the damage to save or make money.Blockchain is another solution to the greenwashing problem, where this technology helps topreserve trust in a product and can guarantee that the ESG claims are true (Finastra, 2020).Blockchain Improvements in the Fashion IndustryModern slavery, human rights, and knockoffs are some of the many issues that exist within thefashion industry (reference). These problems are not new, however with globalisation,consumers are more aware than ever before of these problems and are shifting to purchasing ina sustainable manner (reference) with a more transparent view of where they are purchasing
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