Blockchain-based smart tracking and tracing platform for drug supply chain

Abstract

The arising awareness of drug safety has brought tremendous demands on improving traceability and transparency in the supply chain. Conventionally, centralized/distributed database-based traceability platforms are adopted by many drug companies to control drug quality and improve transparency levels. However, it is still challenging to link drug stakeholders into an information-sharing chain due to the potential data manipulations and interest conflicts. In this context, this paper proposes a unified five-layer Blockchain and Internet of Things-based smart tracking and tracing (BIoT3, in short) platform to provide a decentralized traceability solution in the drug supply chain. Following the five-layer blockchain platform architecture, a practical roadmap is provided for the drug industry to achieve blockchain design, development, application, and evaluation. Moreover, three core enabling components are presented: IoT-based drug identity management, on-chain & off-chain mechanism, smart contract-enabled drug services. According to the real data from collaborating companies, the feasibility and efficiency of the BIoT3 platform have been verified using Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. The case study demonstrates that it not only gains useful insights into transaction sizes configuration for optimal blockchain performance, but also provides a feasible blockchain-based solution for drug traceability and visibility.