Globalization of trade and the continuously increasing complexity of supply chains resulted in the need for new ways to manage supply chain processes in a business network. This has led to organizations collectively implementing systems to solve issues on a supply chain level in addition to optimizing processes within the enterprise. In this article we explore the benefits of Network Resource Planning (NRP) systems and how they are used by organizations together with their customers, suppliers and other partners.
What is Network Resource Planning?
A Network Resource Planning system is used by a network of organizations to exchange value, share data and automate multiparty processes. Examples of NRP initiatives are VAKT in oil commodity trading, Marco Polo Network for trade finance and B3i in insurance. In these NRP solutions blockchain technology is used to create a distributed ledger that organizations use to share supply chain information, optimize cross-company processes and implement new ways to facilitate financial transactions and contracts. NRPs can simplify and accelerate use cases such as inventory tracking, financial settlements, and reconciliations by building trust in the data and between partners. Having a single source of truth and an accurate data record shared by multiple organizations creates transparency and helps in reducing cost and time in shared business processes. NRPs enable ecosystems to further optimize business processes and transform supply chains into true value chains.
The benefits of NRP systems
There are numerous reasons for business networks to explore NRPs. The most important benefits are:
- With NRPs you can solve issues on a supply chain level, as where with ERPs you solely optimize within your own company.
- NRPs build trust between organizations with increased data accuracy and integrity, and reduce the required cost and time to maintain an accurate record.
- NRPs enable organizations to maintain a distributed record system on a public ledger, and create a single source of truth for shared data, whereas ERPs systems are used to store data in a central database managed by a single entity.
- NRPs based on blockchain technology supports digital value transfers, while ERPs only support sending payment instructions to banks.
Conclusion
To conclude, NRPs are becoming very popular in many industries and blockchain is often used to support data sharing and enable future innovations. At unchain we support organizations in a range of industries to explore and implement use cases of NRPs. You can find our client cases here for further information. Are you interested in NRPs? Don’t hesitate to contact us via [email protected]!
Other resources
For further reading about NRPs, we refer to this article created by Everest Group.
