Estimating the Impact of Blockchain Adoption in the Food Processing Industry and Supply Chain

Abstract

Food supply chains are benefiting from blockchain technology, as it establishes a shared, secure record of information flows, thus reducing food safety risks, increasing consumers’ trust in products’ provenance and enhancing supply chain efficiency. However, despite some embryonic applications, systematic literature review reports very few investigation studies. This article proposes a potential design and update frequency of relevant data to be stored in the Ethereum blockchain for monitoring and traceability purposes and explores the cost connected to every transaction in the case of a fresh milk processing industry and supply chain, from dairy farms to the end consumers. Results show that (i) investments are limited for the supply chain actors; (ii) the benefits of a blockchain-enabled supply chain can be achieved with a minimal impact on the product’s consumer price, and (iii) the costs of operating the blockchain increases as we move down along the tiers of the supply chain.

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

“…However, the challenges for such an implementation are varied as per different industry needs, skill set of workforce and technical capabilities. But blockchain holds great potential in saving time, increasing customer trust and reducing costs and risks in the food SC ( Longo et al, 2019a ). Hence, focus is needed to give the blockchain research and implementations in social aspect and direction.…”

“…Blockchain enhances food security due to its features like smart contract, consensus algorithm and irreversible time vector. 104 Longo et al (2019a) The paper proposes for design and frequency of updating of the data to be stored on an Ethereum blockchain for traceability and explores the cost in a transaction from dairy farms to end consumers in a fresh milk processing SC. 105 Mao et al (2018) This paper aims to solve the problem of information asymmetry by proposing a credit evaluation based on blockchain system which will improve the management and supervision in food SC.…”

Food supply chain in the era of Industry 4.0: blockchain technology implementation opportunities and impediments from the perspective of people, process, performance, and technology

“…Continued People Quick response code embedded smart contracts identifies food product and farmers practically and cost effectively farm-to-fork assessment Basnayake and Rajapakse 2019) Benefits to swift operations Blockchain technology in FSC for the products (i.e. canned tuna, poultry meat) validate supplies and upstream operations swiftly and efficiently (Bermeo-Almeida et al 2018;Longo, Nicoletti, and Padovano 2019;Kittipanya-Ngam and Tan 2020;Perera et al 2020) Proving authenticity against dishonest transaction (Tse et al 2017;Creydt and Fischer 2019) effect food supply chain performance metrics (Kshetri 2018;Casino et al 2019;Gurtu and Johny 2019; Automating commercial processes (i.e. recall) and trade promotions (Galvin 2017;DHL 2018;Longo, Nicoletti, andPadovano 2019, Wamba et al 2020;Perera et al 2020) Technology High cost and time concerns: There are high costs (i.e.…”

Blockchain in operations for food service distribution: steps before implementation

“…It also discusses smart contracts as an instrument of agreement between parties and validates their application (De Giovanni, 2020; Dolgui et al , 2020). Finally, it addresses economic viability in terms of the necessary investments (Longo et al , 2020; Stranieri et al , 2021; Wong et al , 2020b). Specifically, BT in the food industry is addressed, based on the fact that the factors capable of justifying its adoption are directly related to the SC's ability to ensure traceability, and in terms of to what extent this will be reflected in food safety (Duan et al , 2020; Hao et al , 2020; Ling and Wahab, 2020).…”

“…There is also a need for a strategic decision to be taken in relation to meeting specific market demands and addressing issues of information reliability and product quality (Montecchi et al , 2019). On the other hand, for some businesses, as exemplified by Longo et al (2020) in their study on dairy farms, investments may not even be relevant for producers. However, it is necessary to consider the capacity of other companies, such as small retailers.…”