Is Blockchain a Silver Bullet for Supply Chain Management? Technical Challenges and Research Opportunities

摘要

Blockchain technology is based on the idea of a distributed, replicated, and immutabledigital ledger that enables parties to conduct business in a trustful and transparent waywithout the need for a central authority or intermediary. Its most popular applicationthus far is in payment system applications, e.g., bitcoin. This disruptive technology isexpected to contribute significant business value to multiple industry sectors, includingsupply chain management (SCM), where it can provide greater visibility, accountabilityand trust in interorganizational business collaboration. In this article, we review somefundamental concepts of Hyperledger Fabric, one of the most mature permissionedblockchain implementations. Further, we use the context of a food supply chain tohighlight key design and implementation challenges for blockchain, and provide astrategic assessment of its prospects. Our aim is to dispel misguided notions and mythsabout blockchain as a silver bullet for all businesses. We believe it is important topenetrate the hype to allow a more realistic understanding of this technology. Blockchainis a high-cost, high-overhead storage medium. It is viable only when its higher cost iscounterbalanced by the set of benefits that are identified by a careful and thoroughanalysis of the business. Thus, it will be used mainly for storing important data relatedto interorganizational transactions among partners where trust is lacking and provenanceand visibility are critical. Our paper offers enterprises a systematic way to understandthe real costs and risks of blockchain adoption. The insights gained in the SCM contextalso apply to other areas such as financial services and healthcare that could leverage thefull potential of blockchain technology.