The transformation of value chains is not occurring immediately, but it is the way of development that will make the world safe, accessible, trustworthy, and sustainable.
Conventional business models cease to make companies strong players in contemporary market. They no longer provide sufficient brand confidence, transparency, and efficiency and do not lead the business to strong leadership. A technological transformation of the value chain is the key to productivity, sustainability, and resilience.
Companies no longer use technologies as an excuse to promote themselves and get the hype. It is now crucial for businesses to harness the full potential of technologies to internalize the value chain. This method consists of multiple steps and technologies that work together. Every example of technological transformation is unique, but there is a general scheme for companies to extend the performance of the enterprise with the technologies.
In the Beginning, Was the Communication
First, technological development needs perfect internal communication and networking. The lack of connectivity linking business processes can exceedingly affect the efficiency of the entire company and the quality of its services and products.
Information about orders, delivery, production, and other business processes should be open to employees of the company so that they can cooperate and work more effectively. Shared databases, corporate chats, task management services, and performance appraisal systems link different parts of the company together and allow it to work as a whole.
Internal communication makes business processes flexible and customizable. Decisions based on shared data and collaborative actions considerably increase the company's profitability.
This is only the opening of a technological transformation. To move further, companies should equip every stage of the process with the Internet of Things sensors to automate the communication,
make it trustworthy, and ensure traceability throughout the value chain. Instead of manually handled reporting, employees can access automatically collected data.
The Internet of Accountable Things
The Internet of Things smart sensors monitor the processes and goods while the production, in warehouses, trucks in their way, and stores. The data is constantly and automatically updated: this means that there are no failures in accounting and incompliances with storage and transportation conditions.
As a use case, the logistics company can equip all of its vehicles with special Internet of Things sensors that will take into account the RFID-marked cargoes, their arrival, and shipment, and will track the location, temperature, and humidity in the cargo container. The smart sensors provide a comprehensive picture of the truck movements and condition of cargoes, reporting on the smallest details. Accurate automatic accounting is available to the entire enterprise, and employees can monitor transactions in real-time and do analysis and reports based on reliable, high-quality data.
Technologies Reveal Roots of the Problems
Data analysis is another a laborious and resource-intensive process that can now be handled by technology.
Big Data can handle the massive dataflows that come from the IoT sensors, even in the largest corporation. Big Data, machine learning, and other AI algorithms provide the deep multi-stage analysis of the business data and offer steps to optimize. AI automates internal interactions and simplifies the job for the employees.
Besides, considering the available data, AI can predict trends and guide the business and its value chain in line with trends. For instance, when farming is equipped with
smart Internet of Things sensors and AI, farmers not only receive data on weather, soil, humidity, growth, maturation, and livestock conditions but can also optimize production to meet market needs in real-time. This saves resources, reduces overproduction, and the impact on the environment, which makes the products of this farm not only high-quality and safe but also more accessible.
Blockchain Became the Core of Technology Systems
Layering data technology in business requires maximum sustainability and security. Production, delivery, sales, and other internal aspects of the value chain should be securely protected.
Blockchain as a distributed ledger makes this accessible. The data is stored in several nods at once, and the system constantly checks its validity. The system guarantees all transactions to be done on time and correctly, making the company's finances traceable and manageable. With smart digital contracts deployed to the blockchain, the operators can set the necessary conditions and perform automatic transactions when the conditions are met. Smart contracts eliminate manually handled paperwork and associated costly mistakes or delays. Blockchain as a system of transactions and data storage becomes a support and a sustainable base for the entire ecosystem of technologies that transform the value chain.
FCE Value Chain 4.0
Blockchain, combined with other advanced technologies, can remodel value chains, industries, and ecosystems. The possibilities are unlimited for all industries, even those that look less profitable. The transformation of value chains is not occurring immediately, but it is the way of development that will make the world safe, accessible, trustworthy, and sustainable.
FCE has developed unique tools for a wide range of applications in companies of various sizes to transform the value chains of the food, MedTech, pharma, cosmetics, luxury, etc. The above stages of transformation are aggregates of software and equipment that can be customized individually for the specifics and objectives of a business.
FCE technologies establish communication within the company, provide traceability, trust, deep optimization, sustainability, and as a result - Value Chain 4.0.
