How can retailers take advantage of blockchain?

The original article published at Retail Week

Oracle's Antony Welfare explores the role of the Retail Blockchain Consortium in advancing innovative new tech within the retail supply chain.

Over the past few months I have introduced to you the transformative properties of blockchain technology (also known as distributed ledger technology or DLT) and the benefits that it will bring to the retail value chain.

During this time, I have met many retailers, brands, supply chain companies and other partners all interested in driving blockchain technology adoption within their business.

Blockchain is hailed as a great coordination technology that can foster improved information sharing and trust among multiple parties. For this technology to succeed at scale, common standards need to be adopted among all the different users of this technology.

In order to help develop a retail value chain-focused blockchain transformation and to set standards for widespread adoption, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Retail Blockchain Consortium (RBC), whose role is to advance the usage of DLT within the retail industry.

About the RBC

The RBC explores and advances the use of DLT within the retail value chain. It facilitates collaboration, the pooling of resources and platforms, knowledge transfer and mitigation of risks in the adoption of DLT for its members.

The consortium is a global collaboration led by Oracle, UCL and MonoChain, and involves leading retailers, universities, technology companies, Blockchain companies and service providers.

Mission and vision

The aim of the RBC is to share knowledge of blockchain technology to foster adoption in the retail value chain. This will enable key players to understand the practical challenges of the deployment of blockchain technology at scale across the globe.

The consortium will provide resources for academic and commercial partners to leverage this innovative transformational technology for specific retail value chain use cases.

How will you benefit from joining?

As a retailer, brand, supply chain provider or partner you can become a member of the RBC and benefit from the following:

Access to workshops run by industry thought leaders.Intensive educational and technical accredited courses run by experts.Participation in members-only events and committees on blockchain applications within the retail value chain.Helping to drive corporate social responsibility and improve the environment through relevant use of blockchain.Access to the latest academic retail-focused research on blockchain from the world’s leading universities.Opportunities to lead working groups, focused on your business challenges and leading the adoption of common standards.

Join a working group

One of the biggest opportunities for you is to lead and join a working group. The working groups focus on a specific use case for blockchain technology within the retail value chain.

Each group will have a clear use case focus and be made up of technology experts, business users and partners. Their main aim will be to set standards on how DLT can be adopted widely for a particular use case.

The launch event will take place on January 24, 2019 in London.

This free, invitation-only event brings together retailers, corporates, tech companies and academics to explore the applications of this nascent and disruptive technology. Participants will have the opportunity to sign up for the consortium.

Please join us in this unique opportunity to meet with a collection of senior professionals based on a common interest. The agenda is detailed below. We look forward to seeing you at the event.

Agenda:

6-6.30pm – Arrival and networking

6.30-7pm – Oracle, UCL, MonoChain

7-7.30pm – Panel with top retailers, brands and supply chain partners

7.30-8.30pm – Drinks and networking