Annala of Operations Research

Blockchain in Supply Chain Management

Mr. Sanjay Rohith1, Mr. Thilakk M B2

Dr. A.S.Princy3

MBA Student, School of Management, Sathyabama Institute of Science and

1

Technology, Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India – 600119

[email protected]

MBA Student, School of Management, Sathyabama Institute of Science and

2

Technology, Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India – 600119

[email protected]

3
MBA, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Sathyabama Institute of Science and
Technology, Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India – 600119

NUMBER OF REFERENCES NUMBER OF FIGURES NUMBER OF TABLES

1 7 1

ABSTRACT

For the past few years, the market has changed a lot and it has become dynamic and demanding which has
put themarket into a competitive environment. The supply chain plays a crucial role to adapt the business
to the dynamic environment as it is very reliant on collaboration integration as well as flexibility. The
applications related to the supply chain have gotten the attention of many business owners and to improve
the flow control of the supply chain many specialized applications are implemented. One of the most
important new technologicalapplications in the supply chain is blockchain technology whichhas garnered
the attention of many business owners as it can be quickly adapted to dynamic market conditions and in
the business environment. One upon reading this will get to know about the effect of blockchain
technology utilization on this field. The results of the research paper recommend that companies invest in
blockchain technology so that the supply chain becomesmore transparent, flexible, and secure. There is no
doubt in the fact that blockchain technology plays an important role in developing trust with the
stakeholder of the supply chain. In the end, the research paper has also given some considerations on the
implications that are positive as well as the potential of the blockchain in the field of collaboration and
integration.

Keywords — Blockchain, Supply Chain Management, Industry 4.0, Smart Contracts,

Transparency, Trust, Traceability, Flexibility.

INTRODUCTION

Most global companies have always faced challenges in supply chain management. The company has always
devoteda lot of resources which leads to various inefficiencies and tofiguring out cost reduction. With the approach
of blockchaintechnology, companies have thought of thinking forward. This technology could help in the evolution
of the supply chain. According to analysts, blockchain technology can enhance the contemporary structure of the
supply chain by enhancing supply chain efficiency, trust as well as transparency .
 Annala of Operations Research

Moreover, the future of the supply chain is blockchain solutions according to many supply chain leaders.The
survey performed by PwC in 2019 has revealed that morethan 24% of the industrial manufacturing industry is
lookingto implement blockchain technology in supply chain management .

LITERATURE REVIEW

1) Blockchain Technology definition and its boundaries

It has been discussed above that blockchain is a distributedledger database that consists of records or transactions
or various digital incidents that are executed by the participants.Some articles have been published to a
clarification on blockchain technology and how it works in the recent past [14]. Cryptocurrencies are one of the
most popular examplesof blockchain technology has been also named Bitcoin. .

2) Supply chain management definition and itsboundaries

The definition of supply chain management is not the samefor all others; however, according to [16], supply
chain management is a process of handling the entire integrative flow of materials ranging from a raw material
supplier to production warehousing and transportation to the users.

3) Blockchain-based supply chain

There is uncertainty about the adoption of blockchain, globally as well as logistically [17]. The reason is the
immaturity of blockchain, and it is looking to transform the SC activities by helping enhance as well as
accountability. According to [18], transparency is a crucial factor in the traceability level. However, [19] has
come up with 3 types oftransparency in an SC.

4) Blockchain Technology and supply chaintransparency

As shown in Fig 4 and 5 the field of the supply chain, blockchain plays a crucial role in solving two major issues
based on transparency, traceability, and irreversibility of transaction data. The two major issues of the supply
chain arethe difficulty and inadequacy in moving and claiming responsibility because of the insufficient
information transparency and the inferior product quality that is not easy to be eliminated because of the
multizone and long-term characteristics of the logistics [23].

FIG 1.1

FIG 1.2
 Annala of Operations Research

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study delves into the blockchain's practical applications, offering an in-depth examination of its impact on
supply chain management. By synthesizing existing knowledge, we aim to provide a nuanced understanding of
blockchain's potential to transform supply chain operations.

 Research Design : Our study takes an exploratory stance, seeking to unravel the benefits and challenges of
integrating blockchain into supply chain operations.
 Area of Study : The study is under taken in Chennai city.
 Sample Size : Sample size measures the number of individual samples measured used in a survey as
sample size of 50 respondents.
Data Collection : the primary data was collected from 50 respondents using a Google Form ( Online survey
research )

LINK :
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdR2A4pqPOLe6IwHxBZW738LHpGLcdW7vs7RUO6
wnHRUo-gxA/viewform?usp=sf_link

 Sample Technique : The sampling techniques used for the project is convenience sampling method.

SURVEY RESULTS
1.Gender
50 RESPONDENTS

2.Age Group
50 RESPONDENTS
 Annala of Operations Research

3. Familiar with blockchain technology?

50 RESPONDENTS

4.What benefits do you expect from implementing blockchain in supply chain

management?
50 RESPONDENTS

5. Would you like to learn more about blockchain technology?

50 RESPONDENTS
 Annala of Operations Research

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Results

There is no doubt in the fact that the modern supply chainhas benefited from the advancement in technology
but there are still significant challenges the modern supply chain management encounters in functioning which
are discussed below:
 Complex ecosystem: there is an intricate web of suppliers as well as registered channels of the global
enterprise that operates at regional, national, and international levels [16]
 Lack of traceability: it becomes difficult for thesupply network to pinpoint providence
 Improper response: there can be delay experienced if the process mismatch in between the individual
country and the operating company
 Poor visibility: when the process is dispatched, [17]the company cannot keep track of the goods with
thehelp of barcodes in the transit

B. Discussion

QUESTIONS OPTIONS HIGH RESPONCE

1, Gender Male Female Male
2, Age Less than 18
18-25
26-35 18-25
35-40
40+
3, Familiar with blockchain Yes No Yes
technology?
Improved supply chain visibility
4, What benefits do you
expect from implementing Reduced counterfeiting
Increased efficiency
blockchain in supply chain
management? Enhanced collaboration
Increased efficiency
5, Would you like to learn Yes No Yes
more about blockchain
technology?

CONCLUSION

There are a group of companies that make supply chain systems, and it also consists of various
types of flow such asinformation, finance, and goods. It Is important to collaboratewith the various
forms of the business and integrate the flowsto enhance the total performance and come up with a
competitive advantage for the various organizations. Theliterature review of the blockchain explored
the powerful features that can be used in various fields. Moreover, the paper has also highlighted
blockchain technology and how itwould facilitate supply chain collaboration and integration.

A. Future Work
Blockchain is an emerging technology and can help in theupliftment of the supply chain business; it alone
cannot makeany disrupted changes in the business ecosystem. But the research paper has highlighted that the
technology would provide direction and ideas for future research and a couple of directions have been suggested.
The primary objective is to monitor the business needs that are defined at the high levelwhich consists of
capability needs. The second factor is the Technology exploration research that will develop innovativeservices
by taking into account new information and communication technologies.
 Annala of Operations Research

Lastly, the authors suggested that it is very crucial tointegrate blockchain with other technologies like the IoT,
smart contract 3D printing, etc, and welcome the end user togive ideas on the various services. All the studies
would helpgovernment managers as well as researchers to understand blockchain technology and implement it
in business andsupply chain management.
B. Open Research Questions
Currently, the organizations have no clue about blockchain-enabled solutions and a seeking networking with
the corresponding groups on this concept. The progress of blockchain technology in the supply chain field has
been slowin enterprises because of several reasons that are discussed below.
 The organizations are still arguing for finding asolution that can offer the best integration, security,
privacy, customer experience and scalability.
 The organizations are not sure of the regulatory as well as compliance application of the deployment
 The potential use cases have not been identified andhow the use cases can be comprehensive is also
notjudged
 The organization fails to identify when to initiate inmaking a consortium or to join with the existing
one
 Metal hurdles because of the extensive complicationinteraction as well as change in the management
ahead
 The rising tactical and technological issues that are required to be addressed include performance and
scalability, data governance, enterprise architecture as well as business process design.

REFERENCES

[1] Meidute-Kavaliauskiene I, Yıldız B, Çiğdem Ş, Činčikaitė R. AnIntegrated Impact of Blockchain on

Supply Chain Applications. Logistics, 2021; 5(2): 33.

[2] PwC. How can blockchain power industrial manufacturing?www.pwc.com, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/industrial- products/library/blockchain-industrial-manufacturing.html.
[Accessed 22 February 2022].

[3] Deloitte Insights. Deloitte’s 2020 Global Blockchain Survey: From Promise to Reality.Deloitte, 2020.
[Online].Available:https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/6608_2020-global-
blockchain- survey/DI_CIR%202020%20global%20blockchain%20survey.pdf. [Accessed 22 February
2022].

[4] Wang M, Wu Y, Chen B, Evans M. Blockchain and Supply Chain Management: A New Paradigm for
Supply Chain Integration and Collaboration. Operations and Supply Chain Management and International
Journal, 2020; 14(1): 111-122.

[5] Swan M. Anticipating the Economic Benefits of Blockchain. Technology Innovation Management
Review, 2017; 7(10): 6-13.

[6] Mansfield-Devine S. Beyond Bitcoin: using blockchain technology to provide assurance in the
commercial world. Computer Fraud & Security, 2017; 5: 14-18.

[7] Chen G, Xu B, Lu M, Chen NS. Exploring blockchain technology andits potential applications for
education. Smart Learning Environments,2018; 5(1): 1-10.

[8] Lu Y. Blockchain and the related issues: A review of current research topics, J. Manag. Anal., 2018; 5:
231-255.

[9] Wang Z, Wang T, Hu H, Gong J, Ren X, Xiao Q. Blockchain-based framework for improving supply
chain traceability and information sharing in precast construction. Autom. Constr., 2020; 111: 103063.

[10] Wang Y, Singgih M, Wang J, Rit M. Making sense of blockchain technology: How will it transform
supply chains? Int. J. Prod. Econ., 2019; 211: 221-236.