Making Sense of Blockchain: How Firms Can Chart a Strategic Path Forward ^Top Identify & Prioritize What’s the Impact on My Existing Business? Once a firm establishes its need and risk appetite for blockchain, it can eval- uate the business value of investing in a solution. The firm should next identify appropriate use cases and evaluate blockchain’s impact on its balance sheet. To identify use cases, the firm can conduct a scenario planning exercise based on future state, efficiency gains, competitor moves, customer adop- tion, and uncertainties.21 Refer to the adjacent box for steps on drawing up relevant use cases. The identified use cases can then be stress-tested to see whether they make business sense. Firms need to focus on two key factors: quantifiable efficiency gains and operational inconveniences during adoption. A cost-benefit analy- sis should reflect efficiency gains such 21 Paul J.H. Schoemaker and V. Michael Mavaddat, “Scenario Planning for Disruptive Technologies,” in Wharton on Emerging Technologies, ed. George S. Day and Paul J.H. Schoemaker with Robert E. Gunther (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2000), chap. 10. Rita Gunther McGrath, “A Real Options Logic for Initiating Technology Positioning Investments,” Acade- my of Management Re0view 22, no. 4 (October 1997): 974-996, http://www.jstor.org/stable/259251. Identifying Use Cases First, use a top-down approach to identify which blockchain proper- ties are relevant to firm operations. For instance, tracking the prove- nance of goods might be important for a retailer, while data privacy might be important for a bank and transparency for a law firm. Next, through a bottom-up ap- proach, identify operational inef- ficiencies that need intervention. Revisit the firm’s organizational processes, customer journeys, and value chain to identify use cases for further evaluation. These top- down and bottom-up approaches, when combined, will highlight use cases for further evaluation. Finally, draw up customer adoption and competitor adoption prob- abilities and a timeline for these use cases. This will determine the urgency and importance of inter- vention in each identified use case.