Sharing economy and blockchain. The best love story since pretty woman.
Sharing is trendy that’s for sure. Having become part of everyday life in b2c markets already, it is now also changing its first b2b business models. The blockchain technology will ensure that the sharing economy grows faster and brings more drastic changes than many companies expect today.
But let starts with a look at some b2c markets because most of the time you will see there the changes that come up later in the b2b businesses as well.
Some players rule the sharing economy and destroy its reputation
Even though we Germans are still a bit skeptical about sharing, 20 % of the people in Germany use these systems already, ascending trend. So it’s highly relevant. And if we look at what kind of changes the sharing economy has brought about so far, it’s mainly that traditional business models are not working anymore. If you don’t believe me, please ask the owner of a hotel or some random taxi drivers in a random big city where UBER and Airbnb provide their services. They will tell you more about this topic and maybe in a more emotional way than I did. I can understand the frustration of these people but I think too that no company and no business field in general should demand that its business model works profitably forever. And old business models are always replaced when customers have a better alternative for them or not? That’s the way it works in my opinion.
But sharing in b2c markets is not always a positive success story. We also have to talk about wage dumping for employees or exploiting legal gray areas. I think the main problem in sharing economy today is a lack of transparency. Or do you always know if you support a sustainable business model, the whole society benefits from or only the way to fast cash? I guess you don’t. And this because of the intermediary (Airbnb, Uber …), who usually have no interest in telling you how much money ultimately goes to the actual driver or what actually happens with your user data.
“And then came the blockchain…”
You should definitely remember the present time because you will say to your children later: “And then came the blockchain…” — if one day they want to speak with you about the development of the sharing economy. The blockchain will sooner or later render providers of centralized systems redundant. Because if you want to share today, you need somebody in the middle who organizes the booking, the payment and donates trust if you are dealing with someone you do not know yet.
With blockchain you can share now without a centralized marketplace in the middle. You can connect directly with somebody you want to share with, organize the booking and make the payment on a decentral base. Blockchain will completely disrupt the sharing economy and turn it into a fair sharing economy where everybody has a transparent overview about transaction costs and the business models behind.
Sharing Economy and blockchain in b2b markets.
Sharing in general is not as big a topic as it is in the private sector. Not yet. But it will. Today, the value of companies is mainly measured by their assets. How many machines, how many production sites and how many employees and so on. But that’s not the way it will be in the future. And I also tell you why. Market conditions are changing at previously unknown speeds, and companies need to adapt flexibly to these changes.
The big question now is how can companies do that best? I answer with a question. If you move into a new apartment, is it easier if you just have to pack your clothes because the furniture belongs to the apartment or if you have to move the entire home from A to B? You know what I want to say, right?
In the future, companies with the fewest assets will be the most valuable. Because these companies respond most dynamically to changes in markets and demand. For them it is easiest to build new business models and reinvent themselves over and over again so as not to end up like bankrupt hotels or taxi companies that have not been able to change the way how they make business.
Numerous experts share the same opinion and even go so far as to say that ownership in the future belongs to the past. The times where a company is the owner and exclusive user of an asset are over. Good times for sharing economy. If there wasn’t the problem, that central services currently still determine the sharing economy. Most companies do not want independent third parties to know what assets they have available and may not be able to utilize or what additional assets they need. That’s one of the reasons why the sharing economy has not yet prevailed.
Again - “And then came blockchain…”
The same benefits that arise in the sharing economy in b2c markets through the blockchain technology can also be exploited in b2b markets. Only that they have a much bigger effect here.
With blockchain companies can share assets with each other without anyone else knowing. Companies no longer need to publicize outside which assets they need or which assets they do not want to use and like to share. This is a very important point because no company, for example, wants to inform its direct competitor that its machines are not being used to capacity.
Or another example. If a company wants to open up a new market and requires assets for it, instead of building its own local infrastructure, it can use assets that are currently not being utilized on site. In this case sharing minimizes risk if the market can not be tapped successfully or if there are even more interesting opportunities in the future where the company wants to focus on. Blockchain ensures that expansion plans are not made public much earlier while finding partners in central marketplaces and involve independent third parties.
Another aspect of how Blockchain is driving the sharing economy is that the entire organization of sharing can be automated using smart contracts. Finding offers, contracting, paying … all this can be done without paperwork, which greatly increases the efficiency of sharing.
Conclusion…
Sharing assets will be a crucial point for the future of companies and their survival in dynamic markets. With Blockchain, there is now a technical foundation on which I can network with other companies in independent networks to organize the sharing of assets. Without the risk of disclosing my data or plans to independent third parties and without a lot of paperwork.
