مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد نقش بلاک چین در دستیابی به اهداف مدیریت زنجیره تامین – الزویر 2018

Blockchain deployment outside finance has been largely experimental. Some of the most promising non-finance applications of blockchain are expected to include those in supply chain, power and food/agriculture. These areas are arguably strong fits for blockchain. These industrial use cases are believed to deliver real ROI at an early stage of blockchain development (Bünger, 2017). Among many activities that are likely to be transformed by blockchain, supply chain thus deserves special attention. An increasing reliance on the use of Internet-of-things (IoT) applications is among the trends that will affect supply chain management (SCM). With IoT, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, sensors, barcodes, GPS tags and chips, the locations of products, packages and shipping containers can be tracked at each step. This allows an enhanced, real-time tracking of goods from their origins. In this regard, for one thing, there is a deep thirst for a foolproof method for confirmed identity in IoT applications. The first of blockchain’s direct benefits is that it provides a possible solution to identity management (Alam, 2016). Blockchain can be used in a supply chain to know who is performing what actions. Additionally, time and location of the actions can be determined. Blockchain facilitates valid and effective measurement of outcomes and performance of key SCM processes. Once the inputs tracking data are on a blockchain ledger, they are immutable. Other suppliers in the chain can also track shipments, deliveries, and progress. In this way, blockchain produces trust among suppliers. By eliminating middleman auditors, efficiency can be increased and costs can be lowered. Individual suppliers can perform their own checks and balances on a near real time basis (Koetsier, 2017). Blockchain also provides an accurate way of measuring product quality during transportation. For instance, by analyzing data on the travel path and duration, stakeholders in a supply chain can know whether the product was in a wrong place or whether it remained in a location for too long. This is especially important for refrigerated goods, which cannot be left in warm environments. This value proposition is even more appropriate for countries such as China, where meat smuggling has led to serious health risks and a significant loss in tax revenue. In this way, blockchain-based solutions may give the consumers more confidence that the products are genuine and of high quality and make them significantly more willing to purchase the brand.