Page 44 - MetalForming April 2017

Auto Forecast
IQMS will present a manufacturing case history. For details on APSC 2017, visit www.pma.org/apsc.
Blockchain—The Auto Supply Chain’s Future?
An industry-forecast discussion wouldn’t be complete without touch- ing on a unique and somewhat mys- terious development: a new trust pro- tocol for the automotive supply chain? That is the promise of blockchain technology, according to its adherents. Get set to hear more and more about blockchain and its potential across the automotive spectrum. Blockchain is the technology that enabled the bit- coin Internet transaction model in 2009. Here, without any third-party institutions involved, transactions could take place anonymously and securely. The capabilities and per- formance demonstrated in the bitcoin setting have convinced many that blockchaining can work in any trans- action/trade setting.
A blockchain, as defined by a recent article in Harvard Business Review, is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two par- ties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger trans- actions automatically."
Each transaction is a timestamped block that cannot be edited after the fact, resulting in verified transactions. One industry in particular, the auto- motive industry, has been identified as an ideal setting for blockchaining.
“If each auto part were assigned a unique code, blockchain would enable auto manufacturers to track each step of the production and transportation process through a secure database updated by suppliers in real time,” blogs Mahbubul Alam, with Movimen- to Group, a provider of over-the-air software lifecycle and data-manage- ment services to the automotive industry, and recently acquired by Delphi Automotive. “Each part with
its robust digital identity is visible in this tracking system. The OEM and suppliers have encrypted records within the ledger, which makes it easy to identify an incorrect or fraudulent part. No other approach creates such an open, all-in-one system that estab- lishes trust and identity without inter- vention.
“With blockchain,” he continues, “the murk of time and distance would be dispelled; the entire process all at once would become visible. Not only would manufacturers be able to respond more quickly to disruptions and streamline their supply processes with access to this information, they would also be able to guarantee that all of their parts are 100-percent safe as tested.” (Alam goes into detail on blockchaining in an article at www.eecatalog.com.)
Blockchaining, though not imple- mented as yet in the automotive supply chain, is coming under review by the industry. MF
42 MetalForming/April 2017
www.metalformingmagazine.com