# Blockchain-Based Information Management for Supply Chain Data-Platforms
## 4 Findings
### Data Platform  
Data is a crucial asset for digitalization. From the interviews, it becomes apparent that current applications of blockchain are as data platforms. These platforms support data management for shared and updated ledgers in real-time, which will be an effective key-asset for new business developments.  
Interviewees explained how blockchain data-platforms have been well explored for finance and banking sectors. The development of cryptocurrencies and crypto-exchanges indicate several working solutions for currency transactions and its traceability. These aspects assure transparency regarding where the money is being invested. In this regard, data management for accountability corresponds particularly well for blockchain and a clear example is the initial coin offering (ICO) expansion that exhibited impressive results for new business investments.  
Furthermore, a blockchain-based infrastructure facilitates business intelligence for analyzing data and its organization, with a pre-set of logic for gathered data. Interviewees remarked that the real business challenge is to share data to create intelligence. With blockchain as a toolkit for data integration and record keeping, it would be affordable to deploy permissioned systems to share databases into a closed business ecosystem.  
Interviewees emphasized that sharing a database for a closed business ecosystem corresponds with a digital asset. This represents a value exchange and a competitive advantage for the entire community. Therefore, it offers opportunities to real-time data platforms that can evidently increase value exchange and capture, improving performances in those processes in which the time of decision-making is relevant. Within a peer-to-peer data platform, all parties are aware of the information chain and all the key information. Interviewees relied on sharing data and how it enhances business trust between partners. Furthermore, real-time and up-to-date information are key assets for global business competitions, creating efficient data management for all stakeholders involved.  
Similarly, the adoption of blockchain by the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is needed for future development.  
As a result of data accessibility, interviewees emphasized that tracking and tracing product origins represents receiving a true value for blockchain deployment. In this context, blockchain data-platforms foster the development of value chains, in which tracking, tracing, traceability, transparency, and trust are considered fundamental priorities for deployments. Integration and interoperability are required for data as well as for platforms, otherwise it is impossible to design scalable solutions. Thus, interoperability features and data privacy must be considered during the design phase of blockchain systems, especially in designing permissionless data-platforms to prevent and mitigate the risk of privacy issues.  
Additionally, interviewees highlighted the importance of maintaining the ownership of data during the process, respecting compliances and GDPR regulations, and carefully selecting the optimal structure between permissioned and permissionless systems. Therefore, it is beneficial to integrate distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) with legacy data systems, assuring that these systems can communicate with other blockchains and guarantee trustworthiness to customers.