There are hypes towards blockchain-based traceability systems (BCTS) both from academia and industry. This paper discusses challenges and policy recommendations for BCTS from a viewpoint of industrial application and market competition. First, the potentials of BCTS and the gaps between the ideal and the reality of BCTS are elaborated. Second, we discuss the applicability of BCTS. Third, by a game-theoretic model, we study when supply chains should invest in BCTS. Investment is recommended when investment cost is relatively low compared to the price and market competition is less intense. A prisoner's dilemma arises when investment cost is at a moderate level.
Industry 4.0 technologies are transforming the conventional supply chain (SC) functioning and positively impacting sustainability. Blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two dimensions of industry 4.0 that play a crucial role in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and reverse logistics. This review paper focuses on investigating the impact of these technologies on SSCM separately and with their combination on forward and reverse SCs. A total of 197 papers were extracted from the Scopus database till 2020 and finally, 174 articles relevant to our paper were shortlisted and analysed after an in-depth review. The effects of these technologies on sustainability are studied separately by different researchers earlier, but their integration can lead to various insights and disclose several opportunities. The paper portrays insights on the development of Blockchain and IoT to know the current trends, industry-wide applications, challenges, and future research opportunities on SC sustainability.
Abstract Supply chains around the globe are faced with difficulties and disruptions due to the worldwide pandemic situation and digital solutions are needed. There is significant research interest in the implementation of blockchain technology (BCT) for supply chain management (SCM). A challenge that remains is analyzing the interactions of BCT in different areas of SCM. This study aims to identify the influential dimensions of the impact of BCT adoption in SCM and to discuss the synergetic and counter-synergetic effects between these dimensions. Advantages, disadvantages, and constraints of adopting BCT in the SCM context are explored through a systematic literature review, which provides the foundation for identifying the dimensions of impact. The interactions between these dimensions are conceptually discussed. This study introduces three dimensions of the impact of implementing BCT in SCM: ‘operations and processes’, ‘supply chain relationships’, and ‘innovation and data access’. These dimensions are interrelated and have overlapping areas within them, which leads to synergetic and counter-synergetic effects. The overlaps and synergies of the three dimensions of impact are illustrated, and the virtuous and vicious cycles of BCT adoption in SCM cases are highlighted. This study assists scholars and practitioners by clarifying the synergetic relationships within the dimensions of the impact of BCT in SCM and by providing considerations to prevent undesirable effects and expand desired ones.
Amin Shokri, Ali Shokri, Dean White, Richard Gelski · 7 authors
The capacity of the greenhouse gas recycling mechanism in nature has long reached its limit, resulting in a sharply increasing trend in the marginal cost of recycling one unit of human-produced carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. Externalities associated with the marginal cost of greenhouse gas emissions affect health, climate, and the economy, which have urged global authorities and governments to request urgent actions to slow down the production of such pollutants. Nonetheless, without public awareness and a holistic mechanism to monetise the impact of pollutants, a universal strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is condemned to failure. This paper presents an overview of emerging technologies that can come together to offer an innovative solution for monetising, incentivising and realising the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Through a brief review of the literature, an innovative ecosystem is proposed for the first time, accounting for a unified platform for carbon verification, validation and monetisation, which can be adopted as a business model to validate and monetise the amount of incentivising businesses and people for carbon saving on a decentralised blockchain platform.
A Munir, Muhammad Salman Habib, Amjad Hussain, Muhammad Ali Shahbaz · 13 authors
Due to the rapid increase in environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, the focus of researchers is shifted from economic to socio-environmental problems. Blockchain is a disruptive technology that has the potential to restructure the entire supply chain for sustainable practices. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that provides a digital database for recording all the transactions of the supply chain. The main purpose of this research is to explore the literature relevant to blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. The focus of this review is on the sustainability of the blockchain-based supply chain concerning environmental conservation, social equality, and governance effectiveness. Using a systematic literature review, a total of 136 articles were evaluated and categorized according to the triple bottom-line aspects of sustainability. Challenges and barriers during blockchain adoption in different industrial sectors such as aviation, shipping, agriculture and food, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, and textile industries were critically examined. This study has not only explored the economic, environmental, and social impacts of blockchain but also highlighted the emerging trends in a circular supply chain with current developments of advanced technologies along with their critical success factors. Furthermore, research areas and gaps in the existing research are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. The findings of this study show that blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the entire supply chain from a sustainability perspective. Blockchain will not only improve the economic sustainability of the supply chain through effective traceability, enhanced visibility through information sharing, transparency in processes, and decentralization of the entire structure but also will help in achieving environmental and social sustainability through resource efficiency, accountability, smart contracts, trust development, and fraud prevention. The study will be helpful for managers and practitioners to understand the procedure of blockchain adoption and to increase the probability of its successful implementation to develop a sustainable supply chain network.
Roshan Jahan, Abdul Majid, Alina Khan, Aksha Malik · 5 authors
Blockchain has emerged as a revolutionary alternative for ensuring authenticity, fostering trust, and improving transparency in supply chain management, particularly within the rapidly expanding secondary markets for luxury and collectible items. This article provides a comprehensive assessment and analysis of blockchain applications specifically designed to address significant issues, including counterfeit products, provenance verification, and consumer trust in the resale market. Users may access the transfer history, ownership history, and validity of a product due to the blockchain's decentralized and unchangeable record properties. Blockchain significantly enhances item traceability, elevates consumer confidence, and increases resale values due to the emphasis on verified authenticity in both empirical and theoretical research. While implementing the blockchain technology users faces considerable challenges that includes data security concerns, high infrastructure costs, extensive interoperability issues, and technological complexities across several sectors. This article focuses on critical implementation approaches via qualitative secondary research and methodical examination of academic publications, industry reports, and case studies, notably featuring the Aura Blockchain Consortium. The research shows that blockchain has the potential to transform the resale business by reducing transaction costs, enhancing efficiency, and fostering a reliable marketplace; nevertheless, ongoing developments and standardization are essential for wider use and integration. It encompasses smart contract-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), public versus private blockchain topologies, and the secure association of tangible items with their NFTs.
Abstract Blockchain operates on a highly secured framework, and its decentralized consensus has benefits for supply chain sustainability. Scholars have recognized the growing importance of sustainability in supply chains and studied the potential of blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. However, no study has taken stock of high-quality research in this area. To address this gap, this paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of high-quality research on blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. To do so, this paper conducts a systematic literature review using a bibliometric analysis of 146 high-quality articles on blockchain for sustainable supply chain management that have been published in journals ranked “A*”, “A”, and “B” by the Australian Business Deans Council and retrieved from the Scopus database. In doing so, this paper unpacks the most prominent journals, authors, institutions, and countries that have contributed to three major themes in the field, namely blockchain for sustainable business activities, decision support systems using blockchain, and blockchain for intelligent transportation system. This paper also reveals the use of blockchain for sustainable supply chain management across four major sectors, namely food, healthcare, manufacturing, and infrastructure, and concludes with suggestions for future research in each sector.
Nowadays, people search sincerely and deeply for authenticated products with low impact on the environment. Especially with the current risks of fraud and counterfeiting and the successive crisis worldwide. The pandemic crisis Covid-19 makes the decision-makers convinced that the supply chain must be more resilient, robust, and sustainable to decrease the time that the supply chain remains disrupted or unfunctional when it faces an unexpected disruption or an unforeseen event wreaks havoc on a supply chain. This paper aims to review the use of blockchain technology(BT) in supply chains(SC). It presents a framework for achieving resilient supply chains by reviewing the literature and allowing the managers to take advantage of the benefits of Blockchain technology, overcome drawbacks, and delete barriers to the adoption of Blockchain technology. This paper presents the crucial features of Blockchain technology that will be an added value if the researchers and managers could take advantage of the positive side and overcome the negative one, which can potentially improve supply chain resilience (SCR). This research enables the stakeholders an overview of the advantages, disadvantages, and barriers of Blockchain technology that must be well managed to ensure an efficient implementation of Blockchain technology within a resilient supply chain.
Naif Al Azmi, Ghaleb Sweis, Rateb J. Sweis, Farouq Sammour
The construction industry plays an essential role in economic development since it is one of the largest industries all over the world. Blockchain has the potential to reshape the structure of all accessible networks in the future. Construction businesses are increasingly interested in embracing blockchain technology to improve supply chain sustainability performance and supply chain resilience in times of globally increasing risks and volatility. This study evaluates the readiness of actors involved in the producing of concrete goods to emphasize the necessity to bring blockchain into the construction industry, as it may be a solution for supply chain resilience and long-term sustainable growth. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in collecting and analyzing the data and testing the hypotheses. Data were collected using an online questionnaire distributed to 300 employees who work within the biggest concrete producing companies in Saudi Arabia. 120 respondents completed the questionnaires. Additionally, confirmatory semi-structured interviews with experts in supply chain financing, IT departments, and procurement departments have been conducted; the study’s findings revealed a low level of blockchain knowledge within Saudi Arabia’s construction industry, since (90%) of respondents have not worked with Blockchain technology. Several technologists barely understand it, and the level of readiness is very low. However, there is a lot of potential, and it is worth investing in it combined with other technologies such as BIM technology. In this study, the authors have sought to provide a measure of Saudi professionals’ attitudes and understanding of blockchain technology solutions within the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the study’s novelty aimed to provide a grasp of the conceptual, theoretical, and fundamental features of blockchain technology in the construction industry, as blockchain solutions could benefit the global economy by increasing levels of monitoring, tracing, and confidence in international supply chain resilience.
Abstract Maritime supply chain (MarSC) stakeholders interact with third parties (e.g. freight forwarders, 3PLs, financial institutes, custom authorities) to facilitate the cargo flow and exchange of information, documents, or financials. Hence, MarSC stakeholders are increasingly interested in innovative technological solutions that vouch for the authenticity and/or the ownership of digital assets without the control of a central third party. Extended research is carried out to prove how applications based on the distributed ledger technology or blockchain address these requirements, yet limited research investigates their purchasing process and economic implications. This paper uses the phytosanitary certificate in an international supply chain flow as a case study where interaction between multiple stakeholders is fundamental and analyses the purchase scenarios of a blockchain-based tool. To do so, it uses a theoretical model that identifies and quantifies the costs and benefits incurred by MarSC stakeholders, formulates gain-sharing scenarios and presents the results of a sensitivity analysis to show the dependence between the data-use and the potential economic gains it generates. The results show that freight forwarders could share economic benefits with shippers or consignees to anticipate purchasing a blockchain-based tool.
A logistics service integrator (LSI) usually requires a logistics service provider (LSP) to carry out smart transformation in order to improve the level of logistics service. However, LSP’s smart transformation faces uncertainty in terms of investments and income, which seriously hinders LSP’s enthusiasm for logistics service innovation. In this paper, we construct a logistics service supply chain (LSSC) consisting of an LSI and an LSP to explore the incentive mechanism for LSPs to undergo smart transformation. As a benchmark for comparison, we first obtain the equilibrium results under centralized decision making and wholesale price (WP) contracts. Then, cost-sharing (CS), revenue-sharing (RS), and cost sharing–revenue sharing (CS-RS) hybrid contracts are proposed. It is found that when the CS coefficient is in a certain interval, the CS contract can increase the profit of LSI and the smart level of logistics service, but it will decrease the profit of LSP. With the exception that the wholesale price of logistics services will decrease, the equilibrium results under the RS contract and WP contract remain consistent. Only the CS-RS hybrid contract can achieve the perfect coordination of LSSC. In addition, by conducting numerical analysis, we find that the enhancement of the smart effect can encourage LSP to improve the smart level and increase the overall revenue of LSSC. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first study to explore the incentive mechanism between LSI and LSP in the context of logistics service smart transformation. Our findings guide the LSI in implementing an effective contract.
This paper considers a dynamic platform-based, closed-loop supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and an online platform. As an online distributor of the manufacturer, the platform expands the market scale by exerting the platform power. At the same time, to solve the problem of inconsistency between the actual recycling amount and the theoretical recycling amount in the recycling process of waste electronic products, the whole-process supervision of waste products is carried out with the help of blockchain technology, which is difficult to tamper with and is traceable. With the help of differential game theory, four differential game models of manufacturer recycling and platform recycling with and without blockchain are established. The state feedback strategies are derived from Bellman’s continuous dynamic programming theory. Through analytical results and comparative analysis, the adoption conditions of blockchain and the impact of blockchain on the selection of recycling models are obtained. The results illustrated that the introduction of blockchain technology effectively improves the real recycling rate of waste electronics, building trust in consumers, which benefits corporations in certain conditions. However, it amplifies the double marginal effect of the CLSC. Nevertheless, the implementation of blockchain is still beneficial to consumers, as the adverse impact of the double marginal effect is compensated by the improvement in consumer surplus. In addition, the study shows that the implementation of the blockchain incentivizes members, who benefit on the same recycling model when the fixed cost of the blockchain and the share ratio of the residual value of waste electronics are between certain thresholds. That is, both the manufacturer and the platform are better off in a manufacturer recycling model enabled by blockchain. Moreover, in this model, the social welfare and the recycling rate of waste electronics are increased, which enable the CLSC to achieve benefits related to economy, environment, and society.
Clean energy projects have difficulties accessing finance. The transition to clean energy and accelerating investments in green projects require a game-changing approach, groundbreaking infrastructure, and pioneering green financing strategies. This article discusses the potential of blockchain technology in filling the green investment gap. Use cases related to the application of blockchain in green projects are analyzed. Blockchain technology can provide security, transparency, auditability, and traceability and help fill the green finance gap.
Project implementations normally fail due to sustainable development problems that inhibit the usage levels required to facilitate successful implementations. This paper explores the successful implementation from a Bangladesh perspective. In particular, it identifies the possible applications of Blockchain in project procurement and management, and it develops a guideline for incorporating Blockchain into project management to improve the existing project and the procurement management practices in developing countries. This is a qualitative study with an interpretivist research methodology. By adopting an interpretive approach, this study construes knowledge as that only gained through social constructions, such as language, shared meanings, documents, industry reports, reviews of academic papers, and tools; it is a changing and relative phenomenon. This study reveals that developing countries are suffering in terms of the development of projects, including poor project management, a lack of transparency, poor procurement management, etc. A total of 38 issues were identified through this study, which are the main barriers to the successful implementation of public sector projects. One of the main reasons is due to the practice of awarding the lowest bidder during the procurement process due to the current regulatory requirements. This paper found that the Oracle platform, built on Blockchain technology as a cloud-computing platform, is one of the prominent E-procurement platforms that provides both the Blockchain platform and the cloud-based applications. Therefore, after observing and analysing the platform, it is found that Blockchain technology has the capability to resolve 25 issues out of 38 identified issues.