Integrating blockchain technology in supply chain management – a process model with evidence from current implementation projects

In this paper, process models for the integration of information technologies in supply chains are evaluated and utilized for the development of a blockchain-specific model. Case studies are conducted to validate the model based on several implementation projects with the purpose to refine the model’s phases and through focus group interviews and workshops. Even though most of the studied projects demonstrate a clear added value of their blockchain solutions, only few of them make it to the step of running a productive system and integrate the solution in their business processes. The outcome of this paper delivers a practice-oriented process model for integrating blockchain solutions in supply chains. It meets all developed requirements and is validated by interdisciplinary experts that consider a variety of use cases and supply chain application areas

Assessing Key performance indicators in Blockchain-Based Supply Chain Financing: Case Study of Chain Stores

In recent years, due to the growth and development of financing tools and methods, financial institutions are always looking for new, efficient, and low-cost methods. In carrying out their daily production operations, companies are faced with different and diverse financial input and output flows from purchasing orders and inventory to receiving the price of sold goods, which are not the same in terms of time. Therefore, they will inevitably look for the financing of these processes, which is referred to as working capital financing. However, in the conditions of recession and lack of bank loans and considering the problems caused by the unilateral management of this issue, there is a need for innovative financial tools such as supply chain financing (SCF). In recent years, with the introduction and evolution of blockchain technology, this opportunity has also arisen in financial fields to make the most of this new technology. Considering the growth of this technology and the importance of supply chain financing, in this research, it was first tried to fully investigate the dimensions and key components of blockchain-based supply chain financing. chain stores were considered as a case study and the importance of supply chain financing was analyzed in them and the SCF framework was presented in these applied enterprises. In addition, the most important key performance indicators in a blockchain-based supply chain financing system are identified and evaluated with an emphasis on chain store processes. To evaluate the data, a non-linear hierarchical analysis method was used. The results show that transferring and reducing risks in different types is one of the most important performance indicators of the blockchain-based supply chain financing system

Blockchain for automotive: An insight towards the IPFS blockchain-based auto insurance sector

The advancing technology and industrial revolution have taken the automotive industry by storm in recent times. The auto sector’s constantly growing demand has paved the way for the automobile sector to embrace new technologies and disruptive innovations. The multi-trillion dollar, complex auto insurance sector is still stuck in the regulations of the past. Most of the customers still contact the insurance company by phone to buy new policies and process existing insurance claims. The customers still face the risk of fraudulent online brokers, as policies are mostly signed and processed on papers which often require human supervision, with a risk of error. The insurance sector faces a threat of failure due to losing and misconception of policies and information. We present a decentralized IPFS and blockchain-based framework for the auto insurance sector that regulates the activities in terms of insurance claims for automobiles and automates payments. This article also discusses how blockchain technology’s features can be useful for the decentralized autonomous vehicle’s ecosystem

Supply Chain Finance: Techniques, Benefits, and Trends

This major research paper surveys the various aspects of supply chain finance, a recent sphere of working capital management techniques, and its importance for managing small, medium, and large-sized businesses. Globalism and elimination of trade obstacles have encouraged managers to reassess their capital investment priorities. The transition of managements\u27 focus from manufacturing, stocking, and distribution to establishing and preserving a network of multiple partners entails adopting more trust-based and inclusive financing techniques. Moreover, the technological and managerial breakthroughs have reduced the inefficiency in the supply chain\u27s physical flow, justifying taking a similar approach to financial flow within a supply chain. As a complex of financial and managerial methods, supply chain finance aims to resolve the untrustful relationships in business environments and facilitate financing while preserving the interests of multiple parties involved. The paper also examines the various individual techniques executed in the supply chain finance ecosystem. We discuss financing processes, risk mitigation strategies, benefits, and challenges associated with all those unique techniques. Finally, the paper concludes by contemplating recent financial and technological trends shaping the future of supply chain finance, such as securitization and blockchain technology

Supply chain finance: what are the challenges in the adoption of blockchain technology?

As an emerging information technology, blockchain has aroused extensive discussions around the world and been suggested as a solution to address current issues in supply chain finance (SCF). The Chinese government also attaches great importance to this technology, and many Chinese state-owned enterprises have invested in establishing their own blockchain research and development centres. However, there is a lack of studies on identifying challenges when deploying this technology; theoretical framework and conceptual exposition are also scarcely seen. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the challenges and obstacles in the adoption of blockchain technology in SCF. An exploratory case study of a Chinese state-owned enterprise was conducted to build up an initial conceptual framework. Semi-structured interview was applied to collect data from the case firm's employees, top management, and technical specialists. The results of the analysis indicate that in the adoption of blockchain technology, there are technological, operational, and other challenges. From a technological perspective, framework identification, cross-chain interoperability, and data governance are major barriers; whereas, from an operational perspective, the new business process and transformation in the entire supply chain are identified as challenges. Besides, other obstacles such as the elimination of jobs and regulatory issues are also not neglectable. This study contributes to research on blockchain and supply chains by shedding light on the challenges of blockchain adoption through an exploratory case study of a Chinese state-owned enterprise. A conceptual framework was generated as a basis for future research, and the findings also provide insights for companies that may or are planning to adopt blockchain technology

Investigating the themes in supply chain finance: the emergence of blockchain as a disruptive technology

Blockchain has gained momentum as a disruptive technology in supply chain management against its introduction as a finance-related instrument. Nevertheless, the developing academic understanding and the limited practical implications lead to insufficient insights into the use of blockchain technology, particularly in the supply chain finance (SCF) domain. Thus, the expected potential of blockchain technology remains underexplored. Accordingly, this study explicates this situation by examining the extant literature findings and web-based big data that can provide evidence about the real needs in supply chains, and investigating how blockchain emerges as a disruptive SCF-oriented technology. The study employs a web analytics method, Search Engine Results Page (SERP) analysis which considers the trends in blockchain technology use and the interactions between blockchain, supply chain and finance appearing in Google searches. The SERP method examined real-time clicks, web traffics and most commonly asked questions about blockchain. The SERP findings revealed that the interest in blockchain technology neither focused on finance nor data privacy as emphasised in the literature but mainly on the benefits of increasing digitalisation and efficiency in supply chains. The results offered practical implications for capturing recent blockchain- and supply chain-related trends and designing more digital and efficient supply chains

A Blockchain-Driven Supply Chain Finance Application for Auto Retail Industry

In this paper, a Blockchain-driven platform for supply chain finance, BCautoSCF (Zhi-lian-che-rong in Chinese), is introduced. It is successfully established as a reliable and efficient financing platform for the auto retail industry. Due to the Blockchain built-in trust mechanism, participants in the supply chain (SC) networks work extensively and transparently to run a reliable, convenient, and traceable business. Likewise, the traditional supply chain finance (SCF), partial automation of SCF workflows with fewer human errors and disruptions was achieved through smart contract in BCautoSCF. Such open and secure features suggest the feasibility of BCautoSCF in SCF. As the first Blockchain-driven SCF application for the auto retail industry in China, our contribution lies in studying these pain points existing in traditional SCF and proposing a novel Blockchain-driven design to reshape the business logic of SCF to develop an efficient and reliable financing platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the auto retail industry to decrease the cost of financing and speed up the cash flows. Currently, there are over 600 active enterprise users that adopt BCautoSCF to run their financing business. Up to October 2019, the BCautoSCF provides services to 449 online/offline auto retailors, three B2B asset exchange platforms, nine fund providers, and 78 logistic services across 21 provinces in China. There are 3296 financing transactions successfully completed in BCautoSCF, and the amount of financing is ¥566,784,802.18. In the future, we will work towards supporting a full automation of SCF workflow by smart contracts, so that the efficiency of transaction will be further improved

Sustainable supply chain management towards disruption and organizational ambidexterity:A data driven analysis

Balancing sustainability and disruption of supply chains requires organizational ambidexterity. Sustainable supply chains prioritize efficiency and economies of scale and may not have sufficient redundancy to withstand disruptive events. There is a developing body of literature that attempts to reconcile these two aspects. This study gives a data-driven literature review of sustainable supply chain management trends toward ambidexterity and disruption. The critical review reveals temporal trends and geographic distribution of literature. A hybrid of data-driven analysis approach based on content and bibliometric analyses, fuzzy Delphi method, entropy weight method, and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory is used on 273 keywords and 22 indicators obtained based on the experts’ evaluation. The most important indicators are identified as supply chain agility, supply chain coordination, supply chain finance, supply chain flexibility, supply chain resilience, and sustainability. The regions show different tendencies compared with others. Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa are the regions needs improvement, while Europe and North America show distinct apprehensions on supply chain network design. The main contribution of this review is the identification of the knowledge frontier, which then leads to a discussion of prospects for future studies and practical industry implementation