Blockchain-enabled Supply Chain Research Articles

Integrated Supply Chain Automation using Blockchain

A Blockchain is a shared ledger distributed across a business network. Blockchain is creating extraordinary opportunities for businesses to come together in new ways such as creating new values, optimize ecosystems and reduce risk. Using this Blockchain virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded, without requiring a central point of control.Blockchain is disrupting the supply chain industry the way they Technology are currently operating, in terms of overcoming issues with their operating layer, Document layer and Messaging layer.One of the objectives of the study was to identify the relevant blockchain use cases that can address the current pain points of various participants in the integrated supply chain process and improve the current operational and technical environment. Supply chain costs can typically amount to 70% and holds the most levers for optimization. Gaining effective visibility and insights into the operations delivers significant and sustainable benefits. The assessment methodology focused around existing processes, technology & supply chain participant roles to establish common workflows across different participants, understanding of client’s pain points, operational inefficiencies and technology maturity. Post which came up with an "Industry Circle" to clearly articulate participants and their respective data exchange patterns to recommend optimizations. Supply and replenishment patterns become long term strategies rather than short term operational tactics. With Blockchain enabled supply chain, bring in value in terms of full visibility, transparency, reduced time, security in the entire network (for example: components can be tracked from their manufacturing to finished product) and with Smart Contracts, SLAs executed automatically.

Blockchain Enabled Supply Chain Management

Blockchain technology has the potential to create new avenues for Economic and Social systems. Blockchain enabled supply chain solutions have drastically proven to reduce cost and efficiency in supply chain industry. The complexity of Supply chain management which helps to create and distribute goods is very high. The supply chain spans over numerous stages with long time duration involving different geographical locations and large number of invoices and payments, people and entities based on the nature of the product involved. The blockchains are perceived to bring huge transformations in the current supply chain and logistics industry which are complex and transparent. This paper is organized as Section I-Introduction, Section II-Blockchain in Supply chain, Section III-Elements of Blockchain affecting Supply chain, Section IV-How Blockchain revolutionizes Supply chain, Section V-Results,Section V1-Conclusion.

Estimating the Impact of Blockchain Adoption in the Food Processing Industry and Supply Chain

Abstract Food supply chains are benefiting from blockchain technology, as it establishes a shared, secure record of information flows, thus reducing food safety risks, increasing consumers’ trust in products’ provenance and enhancing supply chain efficiency. However, despite some embryonic applications, systematic literature review reports very few investigation studies. This article proposes a potential design and update frequency of relevant data to be stored in the Ethereum blockchain for monitoring and traceability purposes and explores the cost connected to every transaction in the case of a fresh milk processing industry and supply chain, from dairy farms to the end consumers. Results show that (i) investments are limited for the supply chain actors; (ii) the benefits of a blockchain-enabled supply chain can be achieved with a minimal impact on the product’s consumer price, and (iii) the costs of operating the blockchain increases as we move down along the tiers of the supply chain.

Blockchain-enabled supply chain: An experimental study

Despite Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have reduced the information asymmetry and increased the degree of interorganizational collaboration, the companies participating a supply chain are less inclined to share data when information is sensible and partners cannot be fully trusted. In such a context, Blockchain is a decentralized certificate authority that may provide economic and operational benefits but companies operating in a supply chain claim to have little knowledge about Blockchain due to its novelty and to the lack of use cases and application studies.In this work, a software connector has been designed and developed to connect an Ethereum-like blockchain with the enterprises’ information systems to allow companies to share information with their partners with different levels of visibility and to check data authenticity, integrity and invariability over time through the blockchain, thus building trust. In order to explore the potential of deploying the blockchain in a supply chain, a simulation model has been developed to recreate the supply chain operations and integrated with the blockchain through the same software connector to carry out a scenario statistical analysis. Application results shows how blockchain technology is a convenient instrument to overcome collaboration and trust issues in a supply chain, to increase the supply chain overall performance, to minimize the negative consequences of information asymmetry over the echelons of a supply chain but also to discourage companies from any misconduct (e.g. counterfeiting data or low data accuracy).

Designing a Blockchain Enabled Supply Chain

Abstract The paper reports a case study of a consortium in the UK’s construction sector trying to pilot a smart contract initiative. At the pre-pilot stage, we use the theory of sensemaking to understand how supply chain actors contextualise the potential impact of blockchain on their businesses, diagnose a new technology’s symptoms and then develop assumptions, expectations and knowledge of the new technology, which then shape their subsequent actions during the pilot. During the pilot, we use the design science approach in combination with theoretical lens of business model to actively shape the deployment of blockchain. Design science enables us a deep engagement with the field problem and practitioners while the business model allows us a generic design of blockchain deployment while test this generic approach in a given context, i.e. the smart contract pilot. This research offers valuable insights on how the consortium members design a blockchain enabled supply chain and various issues they have encountered.

Ultralightweight Mutual Authentication RFID Protocol for Blockchain Enabled Supply Chains

Previous research studies mostly focused on enhancing the security of radio frequency identification (RFID) protocols for various RFID applications that rely on a centralized database. However, blockchain technology is quickly emerging as a novel distributed and decentralized alternative that provides higher data protection, reliability, immutability, transparency, and lower management costs compared with a conventional centralized database. These properties make it extremely suitable for integration in a supply chain management system. In order to successfully fuse RFID and blockchain technologies together, a secure method of communication is required between the RFID tagged goods and the blockchain nodes. Therefore, this paper proposes a robust ultra-lightweight mutual authentication RFID protocol that works together with a decentralized database to create a secure blockchain-enabled supply chain management system. Detailed security analysis is performed to prove that the proposed protocol is secure from key disclosure, replay, man-in-the-middle, de-synchronization, and tracking attacks. In addition to that, a formal analysis is conducted using Gong, Needham, and Yahalom logic and automated validation of internet security protocols and applications tool to verify the security of the proposed protocol. The protocol is proven to be efficient with respect to storage, computational, and communication costs. In addition to that, a further step is taken to ensure the robustness of the protocol by analyzing the probability of data collision written to the blockchain.

Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the way in which blockchain technology is likely to influence future supply chain practices and policies.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of both academic and practitioner literature was conducted. Multiple accounts of blockchain adoption within industry were also consulted to gain further insight.FindingsWhile blockchain technologies remain in their infancy, they are gaining momentum within supply chains, trust being the predominant factor driving their adoption. The value of such technologies for supply chain management lies in four areas: extended visibility and traceability, supply chain digitalisation and disintermediation, improved data security and smart contracts. Several challenges and gaps in understanding and opportunities for further research are identified by this research. How a blockchain-enabled supply chain should be configured has also been explored from a design perspective.Research limitations/implicationsThis systematic review focuses on the diffusion of blockchain technology within supply chains, and great care was taken in selecting search terms. However, the authors acknowledge that their choice of terms may have excluded certain blockchain articles from this review.Practical implicationsThis paper offers valuable insight for supply chain practitioners into how blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt existing supply chain provisions as well as a number of challenges to its successful diffusion.Social implicationsThe paper debates the poential social and economic impact brought by blockchain.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first studies to examine the current state of blockchain diffusion within supply chains. It lays a firm foundation for future research.