Secure pharmaceutical supply chain using blockchain in IoT cloud systems

Abstract

Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems require time sequencing, coordination and tracking the movement of goods and processes. Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain technologies are useful to develop a secure automated SCM. IoT devices with in-built sensors and actuators help to keep track of the state, location, temperature or other parameters of an entity, and control the automation of routine as well as hazardous tasks. Blockchain technology supports time-stamping, authentication, process coordination, non-repudiation, commercial transactions, and also provides security for transactions and storage. The pharmaceutical SCM demands accurate, immediate and secure control system. Additionally, the supply chain process data from IoTs is stored and processed in Cloud by Analytics applications, for business planning and improvement. An efficient and secure IoT-Cloud-Blockchain based system for both SCM automation and analytics has been proposed in this work. It leverages a hierarchical IoT, Mist, Edge, Fog, Cloud computing (IMEFC) architecture to enhance Communication-Response-Compute-Security-Storage (CRCSS) in the system. Blockchain technology provides security for the SCM transactions and data. The efficiency of the Blockchain is measured in terms of upload time, download time and transaction fees for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Filecoin platforms. The Filecoin blockchain platform is quicker and cost-effective for larger file sizes, compared to Ethereum and Bitcoin, making it suitable for Pharmaceutical SCM systems.