ITECH7413 Report: Blockchain Transforming Supply Chains

This report investigates the transformative potential of Blockchain technology in supply chain management. It explores how Blockchain enhances trust, transparency, and predictability by enabling secure and transparent tracking of transactions and logistics. The report highlights key benefits such as provenance tracking, high-speed administrative processes, cost reduction through the elimination of intermediaries, and scalability. It also discusses the technology's applications in financial transactions and dispute resolution within the supply chain. Furthermore, the report references various sources to support the claims and arguments. This research paper is part of the ITECH7413 Supply Chain Management course, focusing on how Blockchain can help take supply chains to the next level.

Logistics and Supply chain management
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Supply chain 1
How to reach next level of supply chain by Blockchain
Blockchain is considered as the emerging technology that has the distributed database that holds
record of the digital data or any events in such a way that it makes them tamper-resistant. In the
research, this has been witnessed that the most popular application of this technology is Bitcoin,
a system of currency that has taken the tech-savy merchants by storm (Hackius and Petersen
2017). Blockchain is the technology behind the assets that are digital and the system of payment
in this technology is Bitcoin, which has the high potential to transform the supply chain. This
technology affects the supply chain by permitting more securely as well as to track transparently
for all types of transactions and imagine the possibility of the current level across the supply
chain (Petersen, Hackius and von See, 2018).
The technology of Blockchain helps the supply chain to reach on the next level. The supply
chain Blockchain could boost the trust, predictability and transparent by permitting the users to
track the logistics (Vorabutra, 2016). Since, the technology of Blockchain is an immutable
ledger, fluctuation in the possession as well as the ownership of the products as they move from
the manufacturer to their point where the retail happens that could be entered into the ledger on
permanent basis. The entire system in this technology is decentralised due to which there is not
even the single point of failure. The supply chain is able to reach on next level when the
professions understand and learn about supply chain that allow them to the collect and make use
of tracking data in the new dynamic ways (Sadouskaya, 2017). For instance, entries in the
database of Blockchain could generate other tasks like the assignment of next batch of products
that actually occur at the location.

Supply chain 2
Moreover, it has been found that Blockchain technology is contributing in reaching the supply
chain in terms of finance. The application of this technology is majorly used to settle the instant
transactions that could reduce friction in the commercial financing which majorly underlies the
trade within the global world (Kshetri, 2018). Along with this, Blockchain technology is also
beneficial in rules for resolving the disputes, which is major reason of delays in supply chain
management. The rules related to the dispute resolution could be agreed upon the beforehand as
well as applied instantly on the Blockchain, when it is required. Some of the major elements that
make the supply chain to reach on next level are -
 Provenance Tracking: - Blockchain makes the supply chain record keeping as well as
provenance tracking in simple manner as the product details can easily be accessed with
the help of RFID tags and embedded sensors (Pratap, 2018).
 High Speed: - Application of Blockchain speeds up the processes of administrative in
supply chain.
 Cost reduction: - The elimination of the intermediaries reduces cost, save the risk of
fraud, duplicacy of goods and contributes in saving the money.
 Scalability: - The system of Blockchain provide the scalability which allows the large
database that remains accessible for multiple locations from the across the world.

Supply chain 3
References
Hackius, N. and Petersen, M. (2017) Blockchain in logistics and supply chain: trick or treat?.
In Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), 3-18.
epubli.
Kshetri, N. (2018) 1 Blockchain’s roles in meeting key supply chain management
objectives. International Journal of Information Management, 39, 80-89.
Petersen, M., Hackius, N. and von See, B. (2018) Mapping the sea of opportunities: Blockchain
in supply chain and logistics. it-Information Technology, 60(5-6), 263-271.
Pratap, M. (2018). How is Blockchain Disrupting the Supply Chain Industry?. Retrieved from:
https://hackernoon.com/how-is-blockchain-disrupting-the-supply-chain-industry-
f3a1c599daef
Sadouskaya, K. (2017) Adoption of Blockchain Technologyin Supply Chain and Logistics.
Vorabutra, J.A. (2016). Why Blockchain is a Game Changer for Supply Chain Management
Transparency. Retrieved from:
https://www.supplychain247.com/article/why_blockchain_is_a_game_changer_for_the_supp
ly_chain