supply chain
Leveraging Dock to Streamline Credential Verification and Monitoring
Running a transparent supply chain, closely tracking raw materials and goods, and ensuring compliance by suppliers and manufacturers are important tasks with potentially significant consequences.
Here are some examples of safety issues and monetary damages that could result from an improperly managed supply chain:
- A manufacturer fails to ensure safety of working conditions at their facilities, resulting in severe injuries suffered by the workers.
- An importer brings unapproved, non-compliant medical supplies into a market, putting the public health at risk.
- A supplier provides a manufacturer with raw materials that are lower-grade than originally promised, making illegal profits and undermining the quality of the finished product.
- A manufacturer produces and sells counterfeit products, illegally monetizing the intellectual property that they do not own.
- Not knowing the exact source or value of cargo prevents a government authority from applying the correct tariffs and maximizing the import duty revenue.
Despite its high-stakes nature, supply chain management has traditionally relied on physical IDs and documents to demonstrate compliance of the parties involved. This creates major inefficiencies and uncertainties, as these documents, and the stamps or signatures (handwritten or digital) affixed on them, can be easily forged and are difficult to authenticate. The authorities performing compliance checks are usually obliged to contact the various parties responsible for issuing the physical credentials to confirm their validity, and perform manual verification. The result is a slow, painful, and error-prone process with increased overhead costs.
Transforming the process
The Dock Network can transform this process by providing cryptographically verifiable credentials that cannot be forged. Compliant with industry-leading W3C standards, it allows various stakeholders in the supply chain to possess decentralized identities (DIDs) on the blockchain, and issue and revoke credentials that are tamper-resistant as a result of a public blockchain combined with decentralized public-key infrastructure. These credentials can be easily, quickly, and accurately verified without arduous manual steps. In addition, Dock’s demonstrated interoperability allows its use alongside other W3C-compliant networks, blockchains, and wallets.
For example, if a manufacturer wants to produce a child’s backpack decorated with a cartoon character protected by copyright, the manufacturer can request an intellectual property license from the copyright owner or licensor. In response, the licensor can issue a verifiable credential (VC). The licensor can also impose a set of rules to the manufacturer (e.g., safeguard the intellectual property assets, ensure a safe work environment for the factory workers), and revoke the VC if the manufacturer is found not to be compliant.
Once the backpacks are manufactured, an exporter purchasing the backpacks, who wants to ensure their quality and authenticity, can request from the manufacturer a verifiable presentation (VP), signed by the issuer. As the issuer’s public key can be cryptographically verified against their DID, and the issuer’s signature cannot be forged without access to the issuer’s public and private keys, the VP demonstrates to the exporter that the backpacks have been manufactured under a valid license.
Dock’s core technology can help businesses and government authorities ensure a legal and compliant supply chain with genuine goods and materials, and timely, reliable deliveries. The end results are significant savings in administrative expenses and increased profitability.
