The present work serves to improve the stable cooperation relationship among subjects of supply chain such as enterprises, farmers, intermediary organizations, and retailers and enhance the governance and optimization of agricultural product supply chain, thus strengthening the competitiveness of Chinaâs agricultural industry. The supply chain governance of agricultural products is taken as the research object. Initially, the stabilities of two supply chain organization modes, âcompany and farmerâ and âcompany, intermediary organization and farmer,â are analyzed by static game analysis. Then, based on the above analysis and the characteristics of blockchain institutional technology, a detailed analyzation is made on the mechanism of supply chain of agricultural products governance based on blockchain technology. Finally, the functional framework of agricultural supply chain governance is designed based on the basic framework of blockchain technology, and analyzation is made on the trust mechanism and contract mechanism of agricultural supply chain governance based on blockchain technology. The research results show that problems such as information and cognitive constraints in agricultural supply chain governance cannot be completely solved only through the evolution of blockchain organizational structure and the supply of governance mechanism, and speculative behavior will still appear. Optimizing the governance of supply chain of agricultural products based on blockchain technology can realize the transformation of its governance scenario. Meanwhile, the blockchain technologies such as deintermediation, demistrust, and intelligent contract play an important role in the process of agricultural supply chain governance, which can make it change in many aspects such as organization mode, application operation, and governance mechanism. The rapid development of new generation information technologies such as blockchain, the Internet of Things, and computer technology makes it possible to comprehensively digitize economic activities such as production and transaction in the supply chain of agricultural products. The present work combines the technical logic of blockchain digital governance with the institutional logic of agricultural product supply chain governance and tries to solve the instability problems caused by imperfect organization, lack of trust, and incomplete contract in agricultural product supply chain governance with the characteristics of blockchain such as deintermediation, demistrust, and intelligent contract.
Driven by the pain points of the organic food supply chain, which has been plagued by counterfeiting and difficulties in pursuing accountability, this paper investigates a secondary organic food supply chain consisting of suppliers and retailers and establishes two supply chain models under the traditional model and in the blockchain traceability context. In order to effectively solve the problem of unrealized Pareto improvement in organic food supply chain after applying blockchain, a new hybrid contract based on benefitâsharing and costâsharing is designed to coordinate the supply chain and realize Pareto improvement, and this solution is gradually applied to organic food enterprises. Based on the fact that blockchain can improve trust in the supply chain and eliminate counterfeiting of organic food, the relationship between the rate of genuine products and market demand and the cost of blockchain is established, and then the analysis is developed using the Stackelberg game. We compare the traditional model with the model in the blockchain context and analyze the optimal profit of each supply chain entity, comparing the change in optimal profit before and after the blockchain implementation, and clarifying the cost threshold of the blockchain technology input application. We find that: (i) The adoption of blockchain can not only improve the authenticity of products and combat counterfeit and shoddy organic food, but at the same time, the improvement of organic level in the context of blockchain will also attract some consumers to buy organic food, which will increase the main body of the supply chain and the overall profit. (ii) Blockchainâadopted supply chains are consistently more profitable for all parties and overall than traditional supply chains. The main contribution of this study is that in the organic food supply chain under the application of blockchain technology model, by introducing revenueâsharing and costâsharing contracts, the profit between each member of the organic food supply chain is further improved than the traditional model, and also, all of them are optimized, which further improves the stability of the supply chain and brings the supply chain to a coordinated state. Finally, in this context, the obtained results show the effectiveness and realistic operational efficiency of the proposed approach for companies compared to traditional single revenueâsharing covenants. A combination of revenueâsharing and costâsharing covenants is the best approach to solve such problems. In conclusion, it should be noted that the analysis presented in this study will help decision makers choose the most appropriate option among the possible solutions according to their criteria. This proposed framework can also be extended in various cases where profits are out of balance in the organic food supply chain, such as safety and value gain.
IvĂĄn GonzĂĄlez-Puetate, Carmen MarĂn-Tello, Henry Reyes Pineda
Blockchain technology is a distributed database, an innovation tool in the agri-food supply chain in processes such as production, distribution, marketing. In this research work, the blockchain technology application in agri-food security processes was evaluated, establishing the best conditions for its adoption in companies, this proposal synthesizes the contributions as a disruptive technology, for this, the information was collected from the period 2018-2020 from the Scopus and Web of Science bases, performing an analysis of the information using the Atlas TI 8.4 software, establishing the focus of the research on a network of codes suggested by some authors. It was found that the contribution of Blockchain for the years of study was traceability 26%, supply chain 17.5%, technological development 10.4%, trust 9.8%, among others. It is concluded that establishing the theoretical link between technology and traceability processes in supply chains, traceability in the agri-food sector is essential to certify information of interest to the stakeholder group. This is because traceability is the transcendental element of the food safety system that allows guaranteeing control in the supply chain when processes are being recorded and enriching the databases, which can be available to the final consumer to check the details of the production cycle and that technological elements generate competitiveness in companies with blockchain in their procedures, promote high levels of transparency, data security, decentralization, among other terms associated with trust, and a better relationship with the consumer is developed and a greater number of sale increasing profitability.
We explored the use of blockchain technology for traceability to improve the safety and value of food, focusing on the coffee supply chain as a case study. The main goal was to evaluate the feasibility in terms of design, perceived benefits, and challenges of applying blockchain and traceability from the usersâ perspective. We implemented a prototype using a user-centered iterative interface design. Then we used the prototype to answer our research questions in mixed-method research, including in-depth interviews (10 participants) and a survey (350 participants) with stakeholders in the coffee supply chain in Thailand. The results showed that timeline-based design was preferred over map-based or text-based design for the visualization of traceability information and that blockchain was a promising technology, as 67% of the survey participants saw a positive influence of blockchain on the adoption of applications. The most notable benefits were origin checking and increasing product trustworthiness. The most notable challenges were inaccurate or incomplete information and the disclosure of trade secrets. More work is required to address the challenges for everyone in the supply chain ecosystem to adopt the proposed traceability system, including (1) providing trustworthiness and completeness of information by cross-checking with third parties or other users, (2) protecting sensitive information by aligning usersâ interests or allowing control of information disclosure, and (3) educating and giving producers the motivation for the difficulty and the extra work.
Patrick Burgess, Funlade Sunmola, Sigrid WertheimâHeck
Food system (re)localisation involves moving food systems back to local areas and a result are the short food supply chains. Food system (re)localisation is occurring to offset the perceived negative impacts of global food systems. Short food supply chains may face challenges in terms of quality set at national and international levels. Short food supply chains will benefit from technologies that can be developed to meet specific requirements which can be significantly different from those in conventional level food supply chains. One such digital technology is blockchain. This paper aims to present a blockchain based quality management architecture developed for short food supply chains. Requirements for the blockchain architecture are based on existing literature on quality management in food supply chains, with an emphasis on the specifics of quality and re-localisation in short food supply chains. Also considered in the architecture are the characteristic features of blockchain, with some emphasis on trust management and smart contracts. The adoption considerations regarding the resulting architecture are highlighted. It is concluded that the architecture has features relevant to the short food supply chain that differs from conventional food supply chains. Future work regarding implementation and validation of the architecture developed is suggested.
Simon Laursen Bager, Christina Singh, U. Martin Persson
Information sharing lies at the core of most governance interventions within agro-food commodity supply-chains, such as certification standards or direct trade relationships. However, actors have little information available to guide sustainable consumption decisions beyond simple labels. Blockchain technology can potentially alleviate the numerous sustainability problems related to agro-food commodity supply-chains by fostering traceability and transparency. Despite significant research on blockchain, there is limited understanding of the concrete barriers and benefits and potential applications of blockchain in real-world settings. Here, we present a case study of blockchain implementation in a coffee supply-chain. Our aim is to assess the potential of blockchain technology to promote sustainability in coffee supply chains through increased traceability and transparency and to identify barriers and opportunities for this. While our pilot implementation clearly illustrates certain benefits of blockchain, it also suggests that blockchain is no silver bullet for delivering agro-food supply chain sustainability. Knowledge on provenance and transparency of information on quality and sustainability can help trigger transformation of consumer behaviour, but the actual value lies in digitising the supply chain to increase efficiency and reduce costs, disputes, and fraud, while providing more insight end-to-end through product provenance and chain-of-custody information. We identify a need to understand and minimize supply chain barriers before we can reap the full benefits of digitalization and decentralization provided by blockchain technology.
Pratyush Kumar Patro, Raja Jayaraman, Khaled Salah, Ibrar Yaqoob
Efficient traceability management is necessary for managing products in the fishery supply chain. Any negligence in products’ traceability can result in food fraud that may adversely affect the consumer’s health. Monitoring and tracking of the fishery supply chain operations can assist system stakeholders in identifying the origins and causes of product fraud and malpractice. Most of the existing systems and technologies used to manage the fishery supply chain processes fall short of providing traceability, accountability, transparency, reliability, trust, privacy, and security features. In this paper, we propose a private Ethereum blockchain-based solution to efficiently manage the fishery supply chain operations in a manner that is decentralized, transparent, traceable, secure, private, and trustworthy. We present the solution architecture and propose five smart contracts to automate the processes in fishery supply chain. We present ten algorithms along with their full implementation, testing, and validation details. We conduct a security analysis to show that the proposed solution is both secure and trustworthy. We compare our solution with the existing blockchain and non-blockchain-based solutions to show its effectiveness and novelty. We make the smart contract code publicly available on GitHub.
All sectors have been updated with new technologies, but India's agriculture, especially Tamil Nadu, is still lagging behind. Third-party interventions are so high that reduced food chain traceability, increased costs, and security issues affect smallholderâs farmer and provide consumers with sufficient knowledge to buy products at low prices. Use of blockchain technology in smart contracts combined with the Internet of Things. This paper analyses literature studies that focus primarily on food chain traceability and explores aspects of cost analysis, time consumption, and security. Therefore, these challenges are blockchain technology in smart contracts, which is being monitored by smallholderâs farmer and consumers are also benefiting from it.
Showkat Ahmad Bhat, NenâFu Huang, Ishfaq Bashir Sofi, Muhammad Sultan
Modern-day agriculture supply chains have evolved from sovereign and autonomous local stakeholders to a worldwide interconnected system of multiple participants linked by complicated interactions, impacting the production, processing, transportation, and delivery of food to end consumers. Regular instances of fraudulent acts reveal a lack of openness in agriculture supply chains, raising worries about financial losses, eroding customer trust, and lowering corporate brand value. To develop an efficient and reliable trading environment, several fundamental modifications in the present supply chain architecture are required. There is broad consensus that blockchain can improve transparency in agriculture-food supply chains (agri-food SCs). Consumers now demand safe, sustainable, and equitable food production processes, and businesses are using blockchains and the internet of things to meet these needs. For enhanced responsiveness in agri-food SCs, new concepts have evolved that combine blockchains with various Industry 5.0 technologies (e.g., blockchain technology, big data, internet of things (IoT), radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC), etc.). It is critical to cut through the hype and examine the technologyâs limits, which might stymie its acceptance, implementation, and scalability in agri-food supply chains. This study presents Agri-SCM-BIoT (Agriculture Supply Chain Management using Blockchain and Internet of things) architecture to address the storage and scalability optimization, interoperability, security and privacy issues security, and privacy of personal data along with storage concerns with present single-chain agriculture supply chain systems. We also discussed the classification of security threats with IoT infrastructure and possible available blockchain-based defense mechanisms. Finally, we discussed the features of the proposed supply chain architecture, followed by a conclusion and future work.
Purpose This paper aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology (BT) to support the operational excellence in perishable food supply chain (PFSC) during outbreaks, by doing use-case analysis. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is performed to determine the dimensions of operational excellence in the food supply chain (FSC), then a single use-case analysis is conducted to explore the potential of blockchain in order to achieve operational excellence for PFSC during the pandemics by applying context, interventions, mechanism and outcomes (CIMO) logic. Findings The findings of this study reveal that blockchain capabilities such as immutability and transparency, visibility, traceability, integration and interoperability, disintermediation and decentralisation, smart contracts and consensus mechanism provide better sustainable operational excellence outcomes for PFSCs to be more responsive, flexible, efficient and collaborative to cope with the impacts of COVID-19. Research limitations/implications This research employs only one real case with multiple PFSC participants. Statistical generalisation is not possible at this stage of the research. However, the findings are not restricted to this single use-case. Practical implications This study provides a research direction to explore the potential of BT to achieve operational excellence in the PFSC during outbreaks and generates prescriptive knowledge for better managerial decision-making across the PFSC during outbreaks. Originality/value This research conducts semi-structured interviews with different participants in one blockchain ecosystem to understand multiple participants' perspectives of operational excellence within PFSC.
Demand for Halal food has significantly increased with the growing Muslim population and societyâs interest in sustainable food production. However, there has been an increase in concerns regarding the Halal food labeling transparency process, with misleading labels found across the world. Blockchain-based traceability systems are a potential solution for current limitations in monitoring the production process of food due to its inherent decentralization and immutable nature. The technology allows stakeholders, including consumers, to promote farm-to-fork transparency, where traceability is a core component. This paper will explore the blockchain-based traceability system use case implemented by the Indonesian poultry player PT Sreeya Sewu Indonesia Tbk. Utilizing a blockchain-based system as a foundation for traceability shows promising results: data throughout the process is recorded permanently and difficult to tamper. Although the system does not eliminate the possibility of incorrect information being recorded, the same immutability characteristics will keep the new knowledge of fraud permanent if found during the audit. This layer of accountability contributes to the transparency that benefits both the consumers and stakeholders of the value chain.
Kirti Nayal, Rakesh D. Raut, Balkrishna E. Narkhede, Pragati Priyadarshinee · 6 authors
Blockchain can solve the problems that the agriculture supply chain (ASC) is facing to achieve sustainable growth. In a nation like India, blockchain application in the supply chain is still new; therefore, supply chain players need a better understanding and awareness of blockchain through valuable insights. This article aims to study the mediating role of blockchain technology adoption (BLCT) for sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP). This study investigates the influence of numerous factors such as green and lean practices, supply chain integration, supply chain risk, performance expectancy, top management support, cost, internal and external environmental conditions, regulatory support, and innovation capability on BLCT adoption. A sample of 316 respondents from Indian ASC industries was collected, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. This study's outcomes show that green and lean practices, supply chain integration, supply chain risks, internal and external conditions, regulatory support, innovation capability, and cost positively influence BLCT adoption. Moreover, BLCT positively influences sustainable agriculture supply chain performance. This article is valuable for policymakers, managers, service providers, researchers, and academicians to understand the role of factors in influencing BLCT and BLCT's role in improving sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP).
In supply chains where stakeholders belong to the economically disadvantaged segment and form an important part of the supply chain distribution, the complexities grow manifold. Fisheries in developing nations are one such sector where the complexity is not only due to the produce being perishable but also due to the livelihood dependence of others in the coastal regions that belong to the section of economically disadvantaged. This paper explains the contextual challenges of fish supply chain in a developing country and describes how integrating disruptive technologies can address those challenges. Through a positive deviance approach, we show how firms can help unorganized supply chains with economically disadvantaged suppliers by carefully redesigning the supply chain through the integration of satellite imagery and blockchain technology. With COVID-19 in the backdrop, we highlight how such technologies significantly improves the supply chain resilience and at the same time contributes to the income generating opportunities of poor fisherfolks in developing nations. Our study has important implications to both developing markets and food supply chain practitioners as this paper tackles issues such as perishability, demand-supply mismatch, unfair prices, and quality related data transparency in the entire value chain.
In traditional agricultural supply chain management, due to involvement of many stakeholders in the entire procedure ranging from farmers, retailers to final vendors, it is merely the producer of the agricultural products i.e., farmers get its direct benefit. The middle stakeholders are always more beneficial than farmers and hence, the conditions of farmers are always the same though they sometimes get good earning and it is becoming a very serious concern in India. The major reason behind it, the transparency and traceability of the entire supply chain of this agricultural products journey from farm to vendor shop. In addition, consumers are becoming more conscious of where their food and food products come from. Block chains have distributed ledger technology (DLT) which has potential to provide transparency and trust for agricultural product supply chains at its different stages and even useful for improving its efficiency. This can boost confidence of all stakeholders who are involved in this farming supply chain. This research paper proposes the same concept in its subsequent sections.
Vinay Surendra Yadav, A.R. Singh, Rakesh D. Raut, Naoufel Cheikhrouhou
Abstract Blockchain has the potential to improve sustainable food security due to its unique features like traceability, decentralized and immutable database, and smart contract mechanisms. However, blockchain technology is still in the early stages of adoption in particular in agricultural applications. In this context, this article aims to identify blockchain drivers to achieve sustainable food security in the Indian context and model them using an integrated MCDM (Multiple Criteria Decision Making) approach. The blockchain adoption drivers are identified through an exhaustive literature review and opinions from domain experts from industry, academia, and Agriculture Supply Chain (ASC) stakeholders. Subsequently, the integrated MCDM approach is developed by combining Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) and Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), which does not only investigate the interrelation between the identified constructs and builds hierarchy but also determines the intensity of the causal interrelationships. At a later stage, Fuzzy Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) is used to cluster the identified drivers to evaluate the importance of each driver. The results reveal that Traceability, Real-time information availability to agro-stakeholder, and Decentralized and immutable database are the most significant drivers. Policymakers, governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders may utilize the information about the interrelationship between these drivers and their influential power, to frame suitable strategies for enhancing the adoption rate of blockchain in the Indian ASC.
The textile and clothing industry sector has today a big environmental impact, not only due to the consumption of water and the use of toxic chemicals but also due to the increasing levels of textile waste. One way to reduce the problem is to circularise the, currently linear, textile and clothing value chain, by using discarded clothes as raw material for the production of new clothes, transforming it into a model of circular economy. This way, while reducing the need to produce new raw materials (e.g. cotton), the problem of textile waste produced is also reduced, thus contributing to a more sustainable industry. In this article, we review the current approaches for traceability in the textile and clothing value chain, and study a set of technologies we deem essential for promoting the circular economy in this value chain - namely, the blockchain technology - for registering activities on traceable items through the value chain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, for easily identifying the traceable items' digital twins.
The food holds a major role and at the worldwide level in human lives and societies, the agriculture sector is known to be a major employer. In all the developing countries, food supply chain is the major domains of research which need a growth. Nowadays, the world wide serious topic is a food safety and the food safety issues are tackled by the trusted food traceability system. It can track and monitor the food production whole lifespan in which the processes of food raw material cultivation/breeding, processing, transporting, and selling etc. are included. In this paper, food quality problems are discussed and the food traceability system is proposed which is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technique for agricultural products. The presented system architecture is detailed and other existing problems are also discussed. The consortium blockchain is utilized as the basic network and the traceability system can achieve more reliable and trustable devices.
This paper explains about the feasibility of Blockchain Technology in food organization. The technology of BCT helps the organizations to achieve integrity among peer-to-peer nodes, such as maintaining proof of work, reducing intermediaries, traceability, etc. It can be applied in the BCT at different levels of Supply Chain Management processes. This empirical study was conducted with the help of the primary data. The data was collected from food industry managers who have knowledge about the BCT in the process of supply chain management. The questionnaire was prepared based on the different supply chain activities like procurement, pre-processing, logistics, warehousing, inventory management, distribution, retailing, processing, and marketing activities. Based on the literature and data analysis, the BCT had the greatest advantages are cost reduction, traceability, time-saving, immutability, authentication and proof of work. The major weaknesses that are associated with present employees having a lack of knowledge, limited scalability, complexity in usage, and high initial cost.
It is necessary to identify what factors affect distributed trust and validate their effect on distributed trust and user satisfaction in an area of the food supply chain for sustainable business. The purpose of the present study is to examine determinants of distributed trust in the blockchain-based food supply chain and test seven hypotheses derived from the structural equation model integrating distributed trust, its three determinants, and user satisfaction. Transparency, traceability, and security are suggested as three determinants of distributed trust along the blockchain-based food supply chain. Data were collected from users of Chinese firms employing blockchain-based food supply chains to validate the research model and test the seven hypotheses. The present study contributes to clarifying the significance of distributed trust and suggesting evidence of its role in the food supply chain. The present study discussed trust-free systems based on blockchain technology related to sustainability through the findings.
This paper examines blockchain technology and food waste management in the hospitality industry. Food waste prevention is an important issue for hotels, as food consumption is difficult to estimate, often leading to huge amounts of waste. Food waste occurs at each stage of the food supply chain and represents a big percentage of hospitality waste. Although many studies examine the difficulties of food waste management, only a limited number of studies examine the stages of food waste inside food supply chains. The coordination of food supply chains can be supported by blockchain technology, which can break the supply chain into smaller parts and help managers to better mitigate food control. To address these issues, this paper conducts an extensive literature review, firstly to clarify the concept of food waste management in the hospitality industry and secondly to examine the benefits of the use of blockchain technology in food supply chains. Combining the obtained knowledge, this study aims to analyze the relationship between blockchain and food waste management practices. It also aims to examine how this combination boosts hotels to increase their performance and gain customersâ loyalty. Therefore, this paper analyses food waste management in the hospitality industry makes propositions on how blockchain technology could support food waste management in the food supply chain and forms the base for future research.
Globalization and extreme competition in the market have made the food supply chain more complex than before. To address the complexities in the food supply chain, blockchain has become more evident than the traditional ways. Use of blockchain technologies can ensure the efficiency, transparency and reliability of the food supply chain starting from the farms to forks. This study focuses on the applicability of blockchain systems to the agriculture field and provides comparative analysis among the existing methodologies that are dedicated to uplift the security, effectiveness and reliability of blockchain based food supply chains. This research has also proposed a novel model that couples blockchain and IoT based sensor modules, which can be applicable in real-life scenarios. The proposed method essentially follows a multi-layer architecture where each layer is presented by means of a blockchain technology. Each layer is fed by the ambient conditions which may impact better quality of crops. The IoT module will ensure better farming as well as the blockchain system will ensure the quality of the end product. If the packaged food degrades in quality, the reason behind the degradation can be located by the model presented in this paper. The presented framework may reach promising efficiency in practical life but the framework implementation cost may create a burden for the investors.