Blockchain-Based Lean Supply Chain: A Simulation Approach

Abstract

This paper aims to propose a model based on blockchain and cloud computing technologies to support lean production techniques for industrial supply chain management, evaluating how the combination of these technologies provides improvement in the chain performance. The literature review contextualizes the state of the art in studies related to the application of blockchain technology to lean manufacturing processes, as well as identifies research gaps in this field. Besides, this study models and simulates an architecture based on both the Hyperledger Fabric network and a virtual machine in the cloud environment, assessing its applicability and performance in the industrial supply chain. The analysis addresses lean aspects identified as research gaps, including integration of stakeholders in the collaborative production of customized products, conditions of flexibility and adaptability to demand variations, coordinated relationship of networks involving small and medium-sized enterprises, and behavior of various players acting simultaneously and consensually. The proposed model reveals a decentralized and nonlinear information sharing concept that demonstrates a logic of simultaneous participation of all players involved in the supply chain. The low costs and processing times identified in the simulation indicate the robustness of the system even in transactions involving a large number of companies and a large amount of data. This architecture offers an integration solution between stakeholders to support operational processes, providing insights for researchers and specialists in the adoption of innovative, reliable and inclusive information technologies for companies of different sizes or levels of development, with a focus on lean manufacturing, reduction in resource consumption and cost reduction. The developed model, which combines blockchain and cloud computing technologies applied to stages of lean production systems, presents a differentiated solution on the planning of integrated production systems, indicating the differential in this work.