Blockchain and Supply Chain Logistics

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess if blockchain technology, which is hailed for its potential to improve supply chain transparency and efficiency, can deliver to this promise (Abreu et al., 2021; Mahyuni et al., 2020; Manzoor et al., 2022; Rennie, 2022; Yiannas, 2018). Supply chains are increasingly complex and full transparency is difficult to achieve and may sometimes be undesired, yet governments worldwide are demanding more transparency especially with respect to the social and environmental sustainability of supply chains (Francisco & Swanson, 2018; Franke, 2021; Najjar, 2021). If blockchain technology allows to close this gap, without compromising corporate confidentiality and efficiency requirements, it might change supply chain management drastically. Most other research in this field remains rather superficial with respect to the fundamentals of blockchain technology and supply chain management. Our study will add to the very limited theoretically founded research on blockchain potentials in supply chains.Study Design: Our paper is conceptual. Based on the extant literature, we compare blockchain technology and its advantages to the characteristics of supply chains and challenges of supply chain management to identify a theoretical fit. We investigate if published case studies of blockchain technology in supply chain management support this. Finally, we devise a conceptual framework for the application of blockchain technology in supply chain management.Findings: There is, currently, very limited use for blockchain technology in supply chain management. It does not provide an answer to several of the challenges that exist in supply chain management. Blockchain technology was primarily devised as encryption technology for virtual entities and transactions involving them and not for tangible objects. Published case studies describing the use of blockchain technology in supply chain management do not contradict these findings.They rely on private blockchain solutions lacking the key benefits of blockchain technology. Our conceptual framework constitutes a reference for a future public blockchain solution for supply chains. It offers solutions for some of the challenges but also cannot solve some fundamental challenges, like power imbalances in supply chains.Limitations: Blockchain technology undergoes rapid development. Future blockchain technology may be faster, less energy-intensive and more integrated with other technologies. This may be aided by developments in hardware, like quantum computing. The findings of this paper are limited to currently available technology.Implications: Companies and governments alike should be very cautious when considering investing in currently available blockchain solutions for supply chain management.

The integration of blockchain technology in supply chains has the potential to transform the industry by improving transparency, traceability, and security. This study provides insight into important aspects for data management in blockchains, such as data kinds, collection tactics, integration methodologies, and data input and delivery accountability. Furthermore, it emphasizes the financial ramifications of blockchain adoption, emphasizing the difficulties that small supply chain enterprises confront due to limited resources. Cultural resistance and deeply embedded corporate procedures are investigated as important operational barriers that could stymie blockchain technology adoption. This study emphasizes the significance of building robust governance models and protocols that promote collaboration and compliance among supply chain actors to manage these difficulties. Moreover, the importance of tackling interoperability issues across different blockchain systems to provide seamless information flow within complicated supply chain networks is emphasized.

Previous literature shows that there are different environmental factors with different impacts on the adoption of technologies in a supply chain context. Thus, the adoption of technologies in supply chains may vary according to different environmental factors. Despite the existence of several studies about adoption of technologies in supply chain contexts that include environmental factors, there is a gap in identifying which environmental factors influence the adoption of digitalization technologies in supply chains. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify and analyze the environmental factors that influence the adoption of digitalization technologies in the supply chain. An exploratory qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with Portuguese managers of companies at several tiers of the automotive supply chain. Environmental factors were pointed as particularly critical drivers to promote the adoption of digitalization technologies in the automotive supply chain. Such adoption is mainly driven by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), through coercive and normative pressures over the other tiers of the supply chain. Relevant factors identified are: Compliance with standards and legislation, market and industry pressures, and benchmark the evolution of supply chain partners. This study contributes to the literature with new knowledge concerning new specificities of the environmental factors that showed an important influence on the adoption decision. © 2019 IEEE.

Inspired by the discontinuation of the blockchain platform TradeLens, co-developed by IBM and Maersk, due to the lack of the involved supply chain stakeholders’ adoption, a critical literature review on the models of supply chain stakeholders’ adoption of blockchain applications was conducted. This review is significant as it provides insights into the exploration of a more universal approach to investigate which factors really influence blockchain adoption, which is a pre-requisite for the technical sustainability of blockchain technology in supply chains. As observed in the review, the technology acceptance model (TAM), the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) are frequently used in the literature, but little attention has been paid to whether blockchain technology fits the users’ tasks in understanding blockchain adoption in the supply chain. Among the technology adoption theories, task–technology fit (TTF) considers whether a technology fits the tasks, but only two previous studies involved the use of TTF. This study discusses the suitability of these existing models of technology adoption for blockchain applications in supply chains and comes up with a new unified model, namely TOE-TTF-UTAUT. This review also has implications for a more appropriate conceptual research design using mixed methods.

There is growing interest in blockchain’s potential to transform the logistics of international trade through its application to supply chains to increase efficiencies and minimize vulnerabilities. Yet for blockchain to truly transport supply chains on a global scale, laws and regulations that facilitate and support its implementation are required. This article explores potential regulatory barriers to the development of blockchain technology in supply chains and asks whether there is a role for international trade rules to address these barriers.

Acceptance of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chains: A Model Proposal

This paper develops a model to predict the adoption and level of usage of network technology in a two-level supply chain with buyer-supplier relationships. A firm's adoption of a new technology depends not only on its own beliefs of the new technology's costs and benefits, but also on the adoption decisions of other firms in the supply chain. A model first analyzes an individual supplier's decision about a new technology adoption considering with multiple suppliers and buyers. Individual suppliers' decisions are aggregated with a population model to project how new technology diffuses across the supply chain and examine the pattern of diffusion process. This study found that as more firms adopt in initial periods, the total amount of information to the potential adopters in the population increases, and then the number of firms persuaded by the information increases as the process moves up the distribution of adoption process. We consider three factors influencing the diffusion speed of the new technology in a supply chain network : mean benefits, cost sharing, and information provision. This study examines how such factors affect the reduction of threshold levels, which implies that reductions in threshold levels have an aggregate effect by accelerating the rate of adoption. In particular, we explore relationship factors available in practice in a buyer-supplier relationship and numerically examines how these relationship factors contribute to increase the diffusion speed of the technology in a two-level supply chain.

The article discusses supply chain optimization based on blockchain supply chain technology and genetic algorithm in the context of IoT to improve the availability of goods and the security of logistics information, improve supply chain efficiency and reduce transportation costs. First, the basic theories of supply chain technology, supply chain optimization and genetic algorithm are introduced, and supply chain optimization with collaborative logistics information management is analyzed. Then, a supply chain network optimization model based on genetic algorithm is established and the optimization results are analyzed. The optimization results show that applying blockchain technology to collaborative logistics information management system improves the overall efficiency of supply chain logistics; using genetic algorithm, the logistics distribution cost is reduced. The study is innovative in optimizing the collaborative logistics information management system in the logistics supply chain and the logistics distribution channel by using blockchain technology and genetic algorithm to improve the security and availability of logistics information. The case study shows that the optimization of supply chain logistics using blockchain technology and genetic algorithm improves efficiency, reduces costs, improves corporate governance and economic efficiency, and increases the competitiveness of the company.

Background: Digital transformation has significantly reinvented the systems and operations in the supply chain and logistics industries, enabling organisations within the industry to be able to deliver higher value to customers at a lower cost. Some of the technologies that have taken up the industry by the storm include contactless technologies such as radio frequency identification, near-field communication, mobile wallets, smart cards, touchless check-in and robots. Adoption of these technologies has grown exponentially since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, as organisations were forced to transform business operations from physical to digital.Objective: The study objective was to explore factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the supply chain and logistics industry. The study has adopted the technological, organisational and environmental (TOE) framework to explore the technological, organisational and environmental factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the industry.Method: The study adopted the quantitative content analysis research design and systematic literature review method to explore factors affecting contactless technologies adoption in the supply chain and logistics industry. Furthermore, a literature matrix was developed and used as an instrument to explore the TOE factors affecting the adoption. After the collection of data, findings were presented and analysed.Conclusion: The results suggest that technical (cost, value and security), organisational (change and management) and environmental factors (customer demand) affect contactless technologies adoption in the supply chain and logistics industry. The study contributes to the body of knowledge of factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the supply chain and logistics.

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of information and communication technologies and their availability in the Central and Eastern European countries that are members of the EU on regional value chains and regional supply chain management and logistics in CEECs in the context of the growing e-commerce industry.Methodology: We used a balanced data panel of 11 countries over 9 years (2011-2019) to examine the impact of ICT indicators on regional supply chains. Th e analysis included the ordinal Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the panel GMM method, which accounts for endogeneity. We implemented the Arellano-Bond estimator within the GMM framework, considering the ordinal nature of the dependent variable. This approach allowed for an effective analysis of the complex relationships in the data, considering the panel structure and the individual country observations.Results: The findings indicate that the hypothesis claiming that the integration of digital technologies in supply chains in CEEs leads to statistically significant improvements in efficiency, controllability, and cost-effectiveness, cannot be rejected. Enhanced communication, collaboration, and overall logistics performance have led to increased customer satisfaction. Additionally, the study shows a positive correlation between ICT infrastructure and logistics performance, emphasizing the crucial role of digital innovations in shaping supply chain dynamics.Conclusion: Th e study supports the hypothesis that integrating digital technologies into supply chain management in Central and Eastern Europe is associated with enhanced efficiency, resilience, and economic integration through value-added export. Th ese insights offer pathways to foster economic integration in the region.

Innovation adoption is linked to firm competitiveness, yet guidance about adopting a proactive stance across a portfolio of technologies is circumspect. We examine relationships between firm technology responsiveness and performance within the supply chain technology (SCT) domain. We derive a behavioral measure of SCT responsiveness by matching survey responses from 274 supply chain managers reflecting the organization’s technology adoption patterns across a portfolio of SCTs with measures of technology novelty. Findings suggest focal relationships are non-linear. In line with resource embeddedness, we find that positive effects of SCT responsiveness are stronger with high levels of key channel partner transaction-specific investments.

PurposeIntegrating information technologies in supply chains is becoming increasingly more important and challenging. The purpose is to develop a framework for understanding antecedents to internalizing technologies in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachA literature review covering over 30 years of interdisciplinary research was used as the theoretical underpinning for developing the supply chain internalization model (SCIM). A series of 93 personal interviews with members of a major automotive supply chain were conducted, and detailed qualitative data collected, to identify a set of significant antecedents to technology internalization.FindingsThe results of the research is an empirically derived framework, the SCIM, including a comprehensive set of 79 directional antecedents useful for academicians and practitioners for understanding factors impacting how information technologies are internalized in organizations and supply chains.Research limitations/implicationsEmpirically testing the proposed directional relationships can be used to confirm their validity and measure the relative strengths of individual or interacting antecedents. The relationships outlined in the SCIM should be tested in a diverse array of industries in order to generalize the model. In addition, the relative strength of the factors should be tested since in different contexts. For more robust understandings, moderating and mediating effects amongst the variables should be identified.Practical implicationsPractitioners can use the SCIM as a source for established guidelines for developing strategies for implementing information technologies.Originality/valueThis paper lays the groundwork for facilitating the internalization of information technologies in supply chains and is flexible enough to accommodate future research into technology internalization.

Supply chain management faces increasing challenges, including inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and lack of real-time visibility.Innovations in supply chain technology, powered by intelligent automation and integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, offer solutions to bridge these existing gaps.This paper examines how emerging technologies-such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT)-when integrated with ERP systems, can revolutionize supply chain operations.Intelligent automation enables seamless coordination between suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors by automating complex processes such as demand forecasting, inventory management, and logistics optimization.Blockchain ensures secure and transparent data sharing across the supply chain, mitigating risks of fraud and enhancing traceability.IoT devices provide real-time monitoring of assets and shipments, while AI-powered predictive analytics improve decision-making, reduce delays, and optimize resource allocation.By integrating these technologies with ERP platforms, companies can achieve greater operational efficiency, cost savings, and agility.The paper also explores how this integration enhances interoperability, reduces system silos, and fosters Collaboration across supply chain networks.In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, the convergence of ERP systems with intelligent automation and emerging technologies is critical to building resilient, adaptive, and future-ready supply chains.

The logistics function in supply chains is concerned with the efficient coordinationof all entities, activities and resources involved in moving a product or service fromits origin to final customers. Beyond the control of material flows, logisticsmanagement seeks to integrate transportation and material handling with the flow ofinformation and financial values in the supply chain in order to fulfil customerrequests. Altogether, inbound and outbound logistics of a company along withexternal logistics services constitute a market value that ranks logistics clearlyamong the top business sectors in any industrialized economy.Based on the tremendous importance of logistics in supply chains and theconsiderable research contributions that have been achieved from disciplines likeProduction and Operations Management, Industrial Engineering and OperationsResearch, the primary objective of this special issue is to examine research issuesconcerned with logistics management in supply chains. For the second part of thespecial issue four papers have been selected for publication after a thorough peer-review according to the standards of the FSM journal. The first part with thefollowing papers has been published in Volume 22 (2010), Numbers 1–2, of FSM.

The topic of the chapter “Additive manufacturing-based supply chain configurations” is about the implementation of additive technologies in conventional supply chains and the possible supply chain configurations that can be generated. As a guideline in the field of supply chain management, this chapter suggests designing the AM-based supply chain configuration according to the supply chain strategy decided by the focal company of the supply chain. Two questions are not fully resolved in doctrine: the first concerns the measurement of the effects of additive manufacturing implementation in conventional companies and supply chains: the second, the relationship between the total average unit cost and the production volume of additive products. In agreement with some scholars, quantitative approach to the analysis of the impact of additive technologies in companies and supply chains is recommended, and the choice of a simulation method for ex-ante assessment of pros and cons of additive technologies over conventional ones is suggested. The goal of this chapter is twofold: to demonstrate that the superiority of additive manufacturing over conventional one cannot be discussed a priori, because it must be proven quantitatively on a case-by-case basis; to support the thesis according to which additive machines can achieve economies of scale.