8 Making Sense of Blockchain: How Firms Can Chart a Strategic Path Forward ^Top has verified the container’s regularity. If all checks are satisfied, Homeland Security can immediately record its acceptance. Hash functions and time-stamps establish the reliability of data, and hence the provenance of goods, while obviating the need for third-party verification. Walmart is tracking perishables such as pork and mangoes to leverage these gains; Provenance Ltd. is tracking seafood; Pfizer, medicines; and De Beers, diamonds.11  Seven Strategic Challenges G reat potential often comes with great challenges, and managers must clear many hurdles before they can begin to realize blockchain’s promise. Business challenges such as cost of entry, financial implications, infrastructure, talent, risk appetite, and privacy make its adoption difficult. Before moving forward, firms must consider the following: 1) Gauging the Actual Impact The foremost hurdle for a firm is to accurately evaluate the impact of im- plementing a blockchain solution. The firm should thoroughly understand not only its own value chain but those of its stakeholders to determine where to intervene. The firm will also have to assess efficiency savings 11 Richa Naidu and Anna Irrera, “Nestle, Unilever, Tyson and others team with IBM on blockchain,” Reuters, August 22, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ibm-retailers-blockchain/nestle-unilever- tyson-and-others-team-with-ibm-on-blockchain-idUSKCN1B21B1. CB Insights, Blockchain Investment Trends in Review (November 2017), https://www.cbinsights.com/re- search/report/blockchain-trends-opportunities/. Arvind Krishna, “The Power of blockchain + Watson,” IBM (blog), May 22, 2017, https://www.ibm.com/ blogs/research/2017/05/power-blockchain-watson/. Robert Hackett, “Walmart and 9 Food Giants Team Up on IBM Blockchain Plans,” Fortune, August 22, 2017, http://fortune.com/2017/08/22/walmart-blockchain-ibm-food-nestle-unilever-tyson-dole/. CB Insights, How Blockchain Could Transform Food Safety (December 13, 2017), https://www.cbinsights. com/research/blockchain-grocery-supply-chain/.