Chow Tai Fook: Blockchain for the Diamond Industry

Kenith Poon; Hubert Pun; Jianping Liang; Jing Chen

Product #:9B20M033_P

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:General Management, International Business, Sustainability

Setting:Hong Kong, 2019-2020

Details:Case (PDF) • 14 pages • 2020-03-04 (Rev: 2020-05-28)

Subjects:

Geography:

Hong Kong SAR Asia

Your Price:

$9.71

Language:

Format:

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

Free Educator Copy
Free Teaching Notes
Build your coursepack
Discounted academic price

In 2019, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, one of Hong Kong’s most popular jewellery chains, had recently adopted blockchain, under the leadership of managing director, to address some of the challenges in the diamond industry. In particular, the company had moved from paper certificates to digital certificates; blockchain also allowed the firm to trace the origin of diamonds, eliminating the problem of blood diamonds. In order to continue as a leader in transforming the diamond industry for the digital age, what other changes should the managing director implement? Should the company emphasize its use of blockchain technology in marketing to end consumers?

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for strategy or operations management courses for undergraduate or graduate students, especially those focused on supply chain management, innovation, and disruptive technology. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

Describe the challenges of the diamond industry.
Explain the core elements of blockchain.
Describe how technology can be implemented to disrupt a traditional industry, and identify the pros and cons of such an implementation.