Category: Technology

Blockchain Technology and Business Logistics: A 2021 Insight into Efficiency, Security, and Growth

Originally published in 2021
The applications of blockchain technology in logistics and business operations were just emerging in 2021. Here’s how it started — and why it’s still relevant today.

How is blockchain technology making businesses more efficient, competitive, and secure? In this article, we explore how it transforms inventory tracking, payment processing, and the global supply chain — the backbone of modern commerce.

Blockchain in your business
Blockchain technology is fast becoming a driver in business operations

Adapting to Evolve

To survive and thrive, companies must adapt to evolving market demands and adopt innovative technologies. Blockchain is one such solution — offering the potential to streamline processes, enhance transparency, and solve persistent issues in logistics, administration, and security.

What is Blockchain Technology?

Often referred to as a “disruptive force,” blockchain technology is a decentralized, distributed digital ledger powered by cryptography. Operated by a global peer-to-peer network, it enables data to be recorded in secure, immutable blocks connected in a chronological chain.

This structure means that tampering with one block would require altering the entire chain — a near-impossible feat — thereby making blockchain one of the most secure and trustworthy data technologies available.

Why Blockchain Matters in Business Logistics

Today’s supply chains span multiple jurisdictions, involving a complex web of vendors, transport hubs, and financial transactions. Blockchain can help modernize this ecosystem by:

  • Improving traceability and transparency
  • Reducing fraud and administrative errors
  • Speeding up transactions and reducing costs
  • Creating trust in multi-party systems

Let’s explore how it works in real-world business logistics.

1. Settling Payments

Companies often experience long delays — averaging 42 days — to receive invoice payments. Paper-based documentation and human error further inflate administrative costs.

Blockchain-powered platforms enable businesses to settle payments through Smart Contracts, which self-execute once pre-defined conditions are met. These digital agreements eliminate the need for intermediaries, reduce delays, and cut down administrative overheads.

2. Inventory Tracking

Inventory management is critical to a company’s efficiency and profitability. Blockchain enables granular visibility over supply chains — allowing businesses to track individual items from origin to destination with improved precision and minimal error.

In the event of a product defect or recall, affected batches can be swiftly identified without disrupting the entire inventory.

3. Security

In a digital-first world, security threats like ransomware, theft, and fraud are real concerns. Blockchain offers superior security through:

  • Decentralized data storage
  • Advanced encryption
  • Smart contract automation

These tools help businesses protect sensitive data and reduce exposure to third-party risk.

4. Reliability & Transparency

One of the most valuable aspects of blockchain is that it reduces reliance on intermediaries. With immutable ledgers and transparent transactions, disputes can be resolved without external audits, and trust is built between stakeholders.

Blockchain is increasingly important in logistics

Is Blockchain Right for Every Business?

While blockchain offers significant benefits, its adoption comes with challenges:

  • Complex integration with legacy systems
  • Risk of data loss if encryption keys are misplaced
  • Inflexibility due to immutable records

Still, for companies seeking long-term gains in efficiency, security, and transparency, blockchain is proving to be a worthwhile investment.

Looking Ahead

From inventory tracking and payment automation to reducing friction in the global supply chain, blockchain continues to redefine how businesses operate. As adoption grows, companies that implement blockchain solutions are likely to enjoy a competitive edge in terms of speed, reliability, and trust.

This article was written after I had attended a conference of the European Maritime Lawyers’ Organisation.

Contact us if you have queries regarding setting up your business. We can also help you to access the right networks to work with blockchain technology.

Google – EU competition law breach accusations

The European Commission sent a statement of objections to the tech firm, alleging that it has breached EU competition law.

Google is accused of placing onerous requirements on firms using Android and stifling competition.

Google has 12 weeks within which to reply and, if found to be abusing its dominant position, could face large fines and have to change its practices with respect to companies opting to obtain a licence to use its apps on their products (smartphones).

Read the BBC article here.

Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Unioni prohibits abuses of dominant positions as follows:

Any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within the internal market or in a substantial part of it shall be prohibited as incompatible with the internal market in so far as it may affect trade between Member States.

Such abuse may, in particular, consist in:

(a) directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions;

(b) limiting production, markets or technical development to the prejudice of consumers;

(c) applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage;

(d) making the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of such contracts.

In particular, under established case law, a dominant position has been defined as:

[…] a position of economic strength enjoyed by an undertaking which enables it to prevent effective competition being maintained on the relevant market by giving it the power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, customers and ultimately of its consumers.

In general a dominant position derives from a combination of several factors which, taken separately, are not necessarily determinative.

This definition has now been adopted widely as the concise definition on which dominance is assessed in case law.

The Court of Justice of the European Union publishes its case law here.