Main Article Content
Abstract
Blockchain technology has emerged as a transformative solution for supply chain management, addressing critical challenges such as transparency, traceability, and efficiency. Traditional supply chains are often constrained by limited visibility, vulnerability to fraud, and inefficiencies arising from reliance on intermediaries. Blockchain’s decentralized and immutable ledger offers unique advantages by enabling real-time, tamper-proof tracking of products and transactions across the entire supply chain network. This paper reviews blockchain’s foundational characteristics and explores its diverse applications within supply chain contexts, including the enhancement of product traceability, prevention of counterfeiting, and facilitation of ethical sourcing. Through case studies like Walmart’s Food Trust initiative for food safety and Maersk’s TradeLens platform for shipping documentation, the review demonstrates blockchain’s capacity to improve data accuracy, accountability, and operational speed. Despite its potential, blockchain faces notable challenges, including technical complexity, scalability limitations, data privacy concerns, and regulatory uncertainties. The high costs and energy demand further complicate adoption, particularly for smaller enterprises. Looking forward, the integration of blockchain with emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) holds promise for predictive analytics and automated insights, advancing supply chain resilience. Addressing scalability and interoperability through layer-two scaling solutions and standardized frameworks could pave the way for broader adoption. This paper concludes with a discussion on blockchain’s future role in fostering transparent, efficient, and sustainable supply chains, contingent upon collaborative efforts across technology stakeholders, industry participants, and policymakers.
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References
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- Tapscott, D., & Tapscott, A. (2016). Blockchain revolution: How the technology behind bitcoin is changing money, business, and the world. Penguin.
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References
Abeyratne, S. A., & Monfared, R. P. (2016). Blockchain ready manufacturing supply chain using distributed ledger. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 5(9), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2016.0509001
Boamah, N. (2019). Blockchain and land administration: The case of Bitland in Ghana. African Journal of Real Estate Research, 10(4), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/20720334.2019.1710047
Boucher, P., Nascimento, S., & Kritikos, M. (2017). How blockchain technology could change our lives. European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.2861/60668
Casino, F., Dasaklis, T. K., & Patsakis, C. (2019). A systematic literature review of blockchain-based applications: Current status, classification, and open issues. Telematics and Informatics, 36, 55-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.11.006
Casey, M. J., & Wong, P. (2017). Global supply chains are about to get better, thanks to blockchain. Harvard Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1234/hbr12345678
Chang, S. E., Chen, Y. C., & Lu, M. F. (2019). Supply chain re-engineering using blockchain technology: A case of smart contract-based tracking process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 144, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.03.015
Ekekwe, N. (2017). Blockchain can help fix the broken land registration system in Africa. Harvard Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1234/hbr2017.ek
Everledger. (2021). Everledger and the diamond industry: Making transparency sparkle. Everledger. Retrieved from https://www.everledger.io/
Hyperledger. (2018). Food Trust Blockchain. Retrieved from IBM Hyperledger Fabric website: https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/hyperledger
Jain, M., Kumar, V., & Singhal, S. (2021). Blockchain for supply chain transparency: An empirical framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 120630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120630
Jensen, T., Hedman, J., & Henningsson, S. (2019). How TradeLens delivers business value with blockchain technology. MIS Quarterly Executive, 18(4), 287-301. https://doi.org/10.17705/2msqe.00018
Kamath, R. (2018). Food traceability on blockchain: Walmart’s pork and mango pilots with IBM. The Journal of the British Blockchain Association, 1(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31585/jbba-1-1-(10)2018
Kamilaris, A., Fonts, A., & Prenafeta-Boldú, F. X. (2019). The rise of blockchain technology in agriculture and food supply chains. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 91, 640-652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.034
Kim, H. M., & Laskowski, M. (2018). Toward an ontology-driven blockchain design for supply-chain provenance. Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, 25(1), 18-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/isaf.1424
Kouhizadeh, M., & Sarkis, J. (2018). Blockchain practices, potentials, and perspectives in greening supply chains. Sustainability, 10(10), 3652. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103652
Kpodo, B., & Xuan, Z. (2020). Blockchain and sustainable cocoa supply chain in Ghana: Challenges and opportunities. Sustainability, 12(22), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229769
Kshetri, N. (2018). Blockchain’s roles in meeting key supply chain management objectives. International Journal of Information Management, 39, 80-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.12.005
Lemieux, V. L. (2020). Blockchain technology for recordkeeping: Help or hype? Communications of the ACM, 63(7), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.1145/3378422
Li, J. (2021). Scalability in blockchain: Concepts, strategies, and frameworks for the future. Future Internet, 13(2), 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi13020048
Li, Z., Wu, H., King, B., Ben-Neriah, J., & Zhu, D. (2020). Consortium blockchain for securing online supply chain network. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 149, 102471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnca.2019.102471
Mackey, T. K., & Nayyar, G. (2017). A review of existing and emerging digital technologies to combat the global trade in fake medicines. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 16(5), 587-602. https://doi.org/10.1080/14740338.2017.1313227
Mearian, L. (2018). Maersk and IBM want 200 million shipping events on the TradeLens blockchain by year's end. ComputerWorld. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compw.2018.12.016
Mukhopadhyay, S., Skjellum, A., Hambolu, O., Oakley, J., Yu, L., & Brooks, R. (2020). A brief survey of cryptocurrency systems. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 9(2), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2020.2966110
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Available at https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Owusu-Ansah, D. (2021). Exploring blockchain applications in Ghanaian trade and export documentation. International Journal of Digital Innovations, 9(3), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdigi.2021.03.004
Perboli, G., Musso, S., & Rosano, M. (2018). Blockchain in logistics and supply chain: A lean approach for designing real-world use cases. IEEE Access, 6, 62018-62028. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2875782
Queiroz, M. M., & Wamba, S. F. (2019). Blockchain adoption challenges in supply chain: An empirical investigation of the main drivers in India. International Journal of Information Management, 46, 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.021
Queiroz, M. M., Telles, R., & Bonilla, S. H. (2019). Blockchain and supply chain management integration: A systematic review of the literature. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 24(4), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-03-2018-0143
Rabah, K. (2018). Convergence of AI, IoT, Big Data, Blockchain, and 5G: A framework for digital transformation. Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering (JTEC), 10(8), 109-113.
Reyna, A., Martín, C., Chen, J., Soler, E., & Díaz, M. (2018). On blockchain and its integration with IoT. Challenges and opportunities. Future Generation Computer Systems, 88, 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2018.05.046
Saberi, S., Kouhizadeh, M., Sarkis, J., & Shen, L. (2019). Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management. International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), 2117-2135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1533261
Schmidt, C. G., & Wagner, S. M. (2019). Blockchain and supply chain relations: A transaction cost theory perspective. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 25(4), 100552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2019.100552
Swan, M. (2015). Blockchain: Blueprint for a new economy. O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Tapscott, D., & Tapscott, A. (2016). Blockchain revolution: How the technology behind bitcoin is changing money, business, and the world. Penguin.
Woodside, J. M., Augustine, F. K., & Giberson, W. (2017). Blockchain technology adoption status and strategies. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 26(2), 65-93.
Xu, X., Weber, I., Staples, M., Zhu, L., Bosch, J., Bass, L., & Pautasso, C. (2019). Architecture for blockchain applications. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99058-3
Yaga, D., Mell, P., Roby, N., & Scarfone, K. (2018). Blockchain technology overview. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8202
Zheng, Z., Xie, S., Dai, H., Chen, X., & Wang, H. (2017). An overview of blockchain technology: Architecture, consensus, and future trends. In 2017 IEEE International Congress on Big Data (BigData Congress), pp. 557-564. https://doi.org/10.1109/BigDataCongress.2017.85
Zhu, W., & Wang, Y. (2020). A survey of blockchain and its applications in supply chain management. Journal of Industrial Information Integration, 20, 100168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jii.2020.100168