Standards Development

Scope

The formatting of identifiers included in an ISO 8000 quality blockchain The formatting of ISO 8000 quality off-chain data sets The method of connecting ISO 8000 quality on-chain identifiers with immutable off-chain ISO 8000 quality data sets

Purpose

A blockchain is an immutable ledger used by industry and governments. Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Tether and 1,600 others) are a use of blockchain technology that allows the decentralized and anonymous transfer of assets. Supply chain transaction data describes the parties to the transaction as well as the goods or services exchanged and the logistics information relevant to the transaction (i.e., ship to, ship from, transportation conditions, etc.). Descriptions frequently consist of identifiers that act as references to data sets.

The supply chain is looking to use blockchain technology to improve the efficiency of transactions, the validation of the parties and the goods or services exchanged as well as the security of supply chain data.

Due to the constraints of the blockchain technology, the data in a single block is typically very small. In order to overcome this constraint, it is common for a block to contain identifiers as references to offchain data sets.

Improving the security and reliability of the connection of an identifier contained in a blockchain with the off-chain data set will improve the usefulness of the blockchain to improve the efficiency of transactions, the validation of the parties and the goods or services exchanged, as well as the security of supply chain data as a whole.