Ensuring Digital Transformation of the Supply Chain through 3D Printing and Blockchain

3D Printing

• Additive Manufacturing Processes

• Rapid Prototyping

• Custom Spare Parts Production

Common 3D Printing Concerns

• Security

• Copyright

• Data Exchange

Blockchain: An overview

A distributed ledger of transactions, contracts, assets, identities, or anything else that can be described in digital form.

Immutable, permanent, transparent, and searchable

Cryptology replaces third-party intermediaries as the keeper of trust

3D opportunity for Blockchain

Additive manufacturing links the digital thread

The Supply Chain is the connecting thread between where goods are produced and distributed and stretching into a vast network of channel partners.

This connecting thread involves managing contracts, payments, labeling, sealing and logistics, as well as anti-counterfeit and anti-fraud processes.

Blockchain Is the Backbone of Supply Chain Digitization

The Blockchain Technology is more than a pure electronic data interchange (EDI) – it is the backbone of digital supply chains, offering distinct advantages over today’s conventional supply chain IT infrastructure and analytics capabilities.

At its full potential, blockchain improves the customer experience, drives value end-to-end, and roots out inefficiencies, thereby lowering costs.

How The Blockchain Technology will Scale 3D Printing for Supply Chain Transformation

Airworthiness certificates

In the aerospace industry, parts suppliers must obtain an airworthiness certificate to conform to the quality compliance mandated by authorities. These certificates and their related shipments must be tracked throughout the life of the airplane. The biggest challenges in the current airworthiness certificate system that blockchain can address involve storing and securing the digital assets at every level of the supply chain.

7-8 percent of global trade is comprised of counterfeit/ pirated goods since there is no reliable way to verify and validate the products and services in the supply chain.

This lack of visibility can lead to counterfeiting causing reputation, health and safety risks.

With anti-counterfeiting blockchain, each product is registered on the blockchain registry with a unique ID and key attributes. Each supply chain partner updates the status (attributes) of the item as it traverses from point of manufacture to point of sale. Products are scanned for authenticity at each point, from manufacture to sale, and originality is checked based on matching of key attributes and ID tracking.

Anti-Counterfeiting

3D Printing for Supply Chain Transformation

Blockchain promises to radically simplify many business processes, reducing risk and boosting transparency.

Blockchain is independent of adjacent and legacy systems, making implementation quick. Once data is recorded in a block, it is non-changeable, and the distributed-storage feature makes cyber attacks very difficult.

The Blockchain Promise