A Framework for Traceable and Transparent Supply Chain Management for Agri-food Sector in Malaysia using Blockchain Technology

Abstract

This paper presents a framework for traceable and transparent supply chain management (SCM) system for the agri-food sector using blockchain technology in Malaysia. Numerous researchers believed that the current SCM system consists of several weak points, especially when multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) system utilizing centralized SCM. Thus, data transparency and traceability are limited. This study hypothesized that if blockchain technology correlates with transparency and traceability of SCM, the above limitation can be minimized, as blockchain technology works in a distributed manner. This research uses "pepper" as an agri-food domain. The research also recommends that permissioned blockchain is a better fit as compared to permissionless blockchain.

Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges and research opportunities

“…Another example is Prochain, a new transparent and traceable SC system which has been conceptualized to help cover all the aspects of SC. It can enhance both transparency and traceability in food products in the Malaysian market ( Chan et al, 2019 ). As food safety is critical to all walks of life, blockchain can directly improve social welfare.…”

“… 96 Bumblauskas et al (2019) The paper illustrates an implementation of traceability in egg distribution SC using blockchain and IoT. 97 Chan et al (2019) The paper develops a framework for making the agri-food sector SC more traceable and transparent. It also recommended the use of permissioned blockchain above permission less one.…”

User Interface of Blockchain-Based Agri-Food Traceability Applications: A Review

“…The blockchain allows origin tracing of products from farms to consumers [3], [4], [77]- [80]. Chan et al [82] proposed a blockchain-based agri-food supply chain management framework for traceability and transparency, which allows information disclosing to stakeholders in a supply chain, so it addresses information asymmetry [9], [52]. In addition to transparency, blockchain allows stakeholders to audit transactions [9], [73].…”

MAGITS: A Mobile-based Information Sharing Framework for Integrating Intelligent Transport System in Agro-Goods e-Commerce in Developing Countries

“…It reduces post-harvest loss through real-time information exchange between agriculture stakeholders, makes delivery more efficient, and forces closer links between farmers and consumers. In Malaysia, the study by [7] proposed five linking participants and their roles engaging in the physical flow of the pepper agri-food supply chain. At each stage connecting the participants, the third-party logistics (3PL) provider ensures an exchange of agri-food information.…”

“…There is little focus on Freight Intelligent Transport Systems (FITS) when viewing local contexts in developing countries. Some of the main challenges associated with FITS are the lack of transparency in data sharing to keep a competitive advantage against business rivals [7], [8]. Even www.ijacsa.thesai.org though the adoption of blockchain technology promises to address this challenge as explained by [7], [8], high implementation cost and complexity of the nature of freights in terms of handling requirement parameters such as size, weight, type (hazardous vs. non-hazardous, perishable vs. nonperishable, etc.…”