Ejeng 2888
Ejeng 2888
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Fig. 1. Blockchain Concept [8].
A. Research Objective
C. Research Motivation
The purpose of the research is to discuss blockchain
technology and how it can help logistic companies. In the field of the supply chain, there are a lot of products
Blockchain technology is a new technology, and most that deliver to the customer that comprises independent
people are not familiar with this innovation however the farms. Because of these reasons, the business fails to
paper has helped the readers to know about the introduction compete as isolated companies, but they are also a part of
of blockchain technology and how it can help in supply the huge supply chain network [11]. Moreover, the
chain management. companies are also encountering uncertainty challenges
because of the globalisation and high expectation of the
B. Research Question customer. There is also a huge market competition and
How can technology help to find a solution to some of the complex supply chain that demands cooperation across the
supply chain challenges? supply chains. Supply chains are fragmented because of
internal competition and limited information exchange.
Apart from this, these constraints also have a huge influence
on business performance and give rise to challenges and
constraints like
high operation costs and capacity storage that can be easily activities related to customers has been discussed. Apart
resolved by blockchain technology [12]. from this, supply chain management also discusses the
management of the entire chain in the study.
D. Research Gap
Blockchain technology offers a lot of benefits but it's not 3) Blockchain-based supply chain
a comprehensive solution in the supply chain management There is uncertainty about the adoption of blockchain,
field. There are many problems with blockchain-based globally as well as logistically [17]. The reason is the
technology and other related technologies. The project must immaturity of blockchain, and it is looking to transform the
realize challenges in the supply change domain and the SC activities by helping enhance as well as accountability.
supply chain system that a blockchain-based system requires According to [18], transparency is a crucial factor in the
various legislative resolutions. Moreover, the present traceability level. However, [19] has come up with 3 types
blockchain platform fails to meet the high level of of transparency in an SC. They are a range of transparency
transaction throughput requirement of the supply chain products, transparency, and participation transparency. Thus
system. The supply chain comprises diverse participants. to implement blockchain-based SCs, it is necessary to
Hence, it is necessary to provide incentives like efficiency analyze the SC transparency factor and to correlate it with
gains to improve liquidity as well as data security so that the the opportunity as well as list perspective analysis so that it
participants are well motivated. Other important issues could help in assessing the mystery gains or losses.
related to blockchain are security and privacy [13]. There To understand blockchain technology in the supply chain,
are concerns with data of the IoT and the present IoT system it is necessary to consider interdisciplinary investigation so
is created on the central model where the IoT devices are that theories can be built and designed for blockchain
figured out, connected as well as validated. Thus it is technology [20]. Moreover, the firms can be benefited from
necessary to think about the transformation for the detection blockchain-based social sustainability and responsibility to
of blockchain technology. extend visibility and assure due diligence. It has been found
that there is a lack of experience in understanding and
knowledge about blockchain technology and there is also a
II. LITERATURE REVIEW labour skill gap with this technology that is required to be
fixed. Moreover, according to [17], blockchain technology
A. Blockchain in Supply Chain Management for technology and business needs to be addressed properly
1) Blockchain Technology definition and its boundaries because there is a lot of expectation from this technology
It has been discussed above that blockchain is a that can lead to the field adoption of this technology in the
distributed ledger database that consists of records or industry.
transactions or various digital incidents that are executed by Blockchain technology can assist in achieving the seven
the participants. Some articles have been published to a objectives of SCM: their cost, quality, speed, dependency,
clarification on blockchain technology and how it works in risk reduction, sustainability as well as flexibility [21].
the recent past [14]. Cryptocurrencies are one of the most [21] has discussed blockchain as a capability to break
popular examples of blockchain technology has been also down data silos and provide one data source in digitization
named Bitcoin. Apart from these cryptocurrencies, there are with the help of real-time data control that is required for all
also human implications of this blockchain such as supply trusted partners in the network. With the help of blockchain
chain, financial services, and manufacturing. This research trust and security can easily be enhanced and apart from
paper has focused on the implementation of blockchain in this, there also exist business values that would help in
supply chain management rather than concluding the building trust with the help of blockchain by improving
technical mechanism of the blockchain technologies [15]. efficiency, reputation, and responsiveness [17]. It can be
The paper has not talked about blockchain technology's key easily concluded that the blockchain has a huge impact on
aspects like the protocols, algorithm, wallet signature and the performance of the supply chain however when it
hash function. comes to operation management, the blockchain provides a
2) Supply chain management definition and its lot of advantages over the existing systems. According to
boundaries [22], enterprise resource planning, radio frequency
identification, and the blockchain are regarded as
The definition of supply chain management is not the
complementary technologies and it is extremely important
same for all others; however, according to [16], supply chain
to analyze their best combination so that we can maximize
management is a process of handling the entire integrative
effect and impact. According to [20], there are four
flow of materials ranging from a raw material supplier to
barriers to blockchain development-enabled SCs are
production warehousing and transportation to the users.
interested-organizational organizational, technical as well as
There are various methods involved in supply chain
external variables. There is no doubt that despite these
management and it is important to identify its boundaries
barriers, blockchain technology is extremely useful as the
[12]. In this research paper, all the supply chain activities
driver of digitization in the SC [20].
ranging from supply to manufacturing, distribution and the
Fig. 4. Blockchain-based supply chain management [1].
Supply Chain
Flexibility
Blockchain Technology
4) Blockchain Technology and supply chain delivery timeline [24]. The wide distribution of supply leads
transparency to an increased risk of mismatch conflict and inconsistency
As shown in Fig 4 and 5 the field of the supply chain, related to the old fashion supply chain. To eradicate this
blockchain plays a crucial role in solving two major issues issue, blockchain can play a crucial role and the
based on transparency, traceability, and irreversibility of implementation of GPS-based vehicle tracking can be useful
transaction data. The two major issues of the supply chain by integrating it with blockchain technology. Moreover,
are the difficulty and inadequacy in moving and claiming blockchain technology is also a good option for logistics as
responsibility because of the insufficient information there is the involvement of vehicle Location tracking to
transparency and the inferior product quality that is not easy reduce cost and increase efficiency [17].
to be eliminated because of the multizone and long-term In the field of manufacturing, blockchain technology
offers a lot of potential by assuring security transparency as
characteristics of the logistics [23].
well as stability that has no central data storage Technology
For better tracking and reporting, blockchain plays a
[2]. Blockchain technology can prove to be better than
crucial role it also allows for better transparency in logistics.
traditional
Moreover, the company can be benefited by improving the
centralized solutions by offering promising results in the decision-making throughout the supply chain as the various
organization and economic criteria. documents can be easily provided to all the participants.
5) Blockchain Technology and supply chain flexibility 6) Blockchain technology and trust in the supply chain
The present supply chain functions are in a more complex There is no doubt in the fact that in modern society the
and uncertain business environment than before. Customer trade network has become much more complex and the
expectation is very high because of the product diversity and various forms within the network are forced to interact with
the short Product life cycles. All these domains require companies that they are not well aware of. Thus it is
flexibility in the supply chain and if the supply chain is necessary to develop trust between the firms to call for
flexible then the company and its supply structure are supply chain success and there is a necessity for optimum
required to adapt to the changes in the environment [25]. information success to ensure trust [30]. The supply chain
Flexibility in the supply chain is defined as the ability to stakeholders look to get rid of uncertainty risk by
meet and react to a wide customer base to gain a competitive information sharing. This leads to dealing with ethical
advantage against competitor. There is no doubt in the fact noncompliance, lack of communication, and infidelity. To
that the business has experienced a highly ambitious get rid of the possibility of trust being damaged in the field
situation because of continuous change [26]. The of the supply chain the two things that are required to be
government can make use of flexibility so that it can adapt assessed are connectivity and vulnerability. One of the most
and respond quickly to the massive change of the absence of important steps is the risk assessment process where one
good information. In the supply chain, it is necessary to needs to figure out the supply chain partner [31]. This is
create a flexible one so that the company can achieve a followed by the supply chain map that showcases the
sustainable competitive advantage in the present relevant information flows and how it is created. By
environment that calls for dynamism, uncertainty, and identifying the floors one can predict the potential
unpredictability. Moreover, if there is a flexible supply chain bottleneck as well as studies and attack levels.
then the company can be assured of an improved delivery The information sharing in the supply chain process has
process and the product can be easily transported to the many important factors that drive bloat blockchain
market in the required quantities [27]. Moreover, the technology; development is regarded as the most crucial
improved supply chain can help in handling the challenges factor as demonstrated in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. In blockchain
of the environment because business transactions are technology, the transactions are identified in a time-stamped
becoming much more volatile and global. and observable manner and then confirmed, there is no point
When an organization can properly respond to and adapt in changing the transaction once the right parties approved
to disruption and demand then it can achieve flexibility the name. Talking about data integrity and security,
across the total supply chain against the competitor to cater blockchain technology is much more secure, traceable,
to the customer need. To achieve flexibility in internal and efficient, and transparent in the field of supply chain
external supply chains, it is necessary to focus on rapid transactions [32]. There is no way of changing the record on
economic and technological development [25]. Companies the blockchain hence the supply chain members' transactions
that have a flexible supply chain will find it easy to respond and decisions are properly recorded and documented on the
faster in situations that are not certain. Moreover, a flexible blockchain technology.
supply change can also enhance the company's ability in As shown in Fig. 8 the supply chain members are well
presenting the product and services clearly and effectively to aware of the transaction accuracy and the activities. If any
the customer and meet their needs [27]. situation arises where it can lead to controversial business
One of the most suitable technologies for achieving results, the members of the supply chain can easily monitor
flexibility is blockchain technology by facilitates tracking the name and take necessary action and adjust the activities
and tracing in the various stages of production. The accordingly at the time of finalizing the future transaction
implementation of blockchain technology in the supply [33].
chain lies at specific contact points [28]. Blockchain A smart contract is another part of the blockchain that
technology will allow the organization to control data creates trust in the supply chain process. The application of
security for all the supplies in transactions. Apart from this it blockchain as well as smart contracts can be implemented in
can also enhance the visibility of the supply chain and offer various areas ranging from insurance returns to financial
real-time data sharing on the network. Therefore, the transactions as well as corporate transactions [33]. Just
blockchain can assist in supply chain flexibility strategies by because of this reason the various numbers of blockchain
meeting the various numbers of stakeholders that are and smart contract applications has increased over time. The
affected due to an outage [29]. The technology can also smart contract feature of the blockchain can be easily
integrate the various supply chain processes and can applied in the supply chain that comprises multiple tiers of
enhance production and management which would result in suppliers as well as subcontractors [34].
a more realistic supply and inventory management. Another Things that can negatively affect the trust between buyer
advantage of using blockchain technology in the supply and supplier are the conflicting goals [17]. With the
chain system is that it can offer the design-related implementation of blockchain, this thing can be easily
documents that are to be shared and used [24]. All these resolved and the negative impact on this conflict can be
factors will help the organization to improve mitigated by enhancing trust in the supply chain.
Fig. 2. Blockchain technology for bridging trust, traceability and transparency in circular supply chain [26].