Wouldn't have noticed if not for the "We've won awards" pack-in in the Costco 2-pack that calls out their use of a blockchain.
@trevor blockchain actually has a lot of very good applications in the supply chain, the greatest of which is food and pharmaceutical tracing and validation. i hate blockchain in general, but this example is one of the only reasonable uses of it (source: i am a logistician by trade)
@trevor If you're at all curious for some further reading, may I recommend "Blockchain Technology In The Food Industry" by Fortuna & Risso (https://doi.org/10.4468/2019.2.13fortuna.risso) and "Blockchain Allows Transparency To Retail Sector" by Viramouttou (https://bwdisrupt.com/article/blockchain-allows-transparency-to-retail-sector-432090)
Blockchain Technology in the Food Industry | Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management

@ldottxt at my level of understanding the main thing about it for me is that you can put a lie or a mistake on a blockchain just the same as you can in a database. I can't think of anything about making a computationally intensive decentralized receipt that justifies it over working towards better record keeping and transparency.
@trevor no database is infallible, but the checks and balances in place in the blockchain make it much more difficult to falsify data. blockchain in supply chain IS working toward better record keeping and transparency, and is one of the best methods we have available currently. it's extremely useful for component tracing, recalls, food safety, among others. i hate the blockchain as a "use it on everything" system, and it certainly has its shortcomings, but it has its place and this is it
@trevor I don't want to sound like an ass but you activated my trap card, as it were - posted about precisely my special interest. I have a masters in logistics information systems and I have a lot of information from both professional and academic perspectives that shows that the example you complained about is basically one of the only truly justifiable uses of blockchain. 😅 guessing you probably didn't read the papers I already linked but if you want more I'm happy to provide!
@ldottxt I had read the abstracts, now I've read the full text of Fortuna-Risso.
It all reads as pie in the sky optimism about a tool, where they then say in the limitations can't be trusted in the way the tool claims it can be trusted without also having to trust the agents you invite to be able to contribute to it.
Having a digital certificate of authenticity on a blockchain isn't inherently more trustworthy if you're dealing with the same people being able to contribute to it.