Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Supply chain management has existed for thousands of years. Technology started evolving with the industrial revolution and yet, paper-based bills of lading are still widely used in the international trade today. This chapter explores what problems exist in today’s supply chains, and whether blockchain technology can help solve them. The problems are categorized into three categories: The origin of the raw material or the product is not obvious; trust issues can exist between seller and buyer; and the supply chain execution is inefficient. A brief explanation of blockchain technology follows as the second part, with a focus on the technology that is useful for this purpose of this article. The two parts come together in the third part, showing how blockchain technology can solve the problems. Finally, a critical view is taken to show the limitations of blockchain technology as a problem solver.