System architecture for blockchain based transparency of supply chain social sustainability

Abstract

Social sustainability is a major concern in global supply chains for protecting workers from exploitation and for providing a safe working environment. Although there are stipulated standards to govern supply chain social sustainability, it is not uncommon to hear of businesses being reported for noncompliance issues. Even reputable firms such as Unilever have been criticized for production labor exploitation. Consumers now increasingly expect sellers to disclose information on social sustainability, but sellers are confronted with the challenge of traceability in their multi-tier global supply chains. Blockchain offers a promising future to achieve instant traceability in supply chain social sustainability. This study develops a system architecture that integrates the use of blockchain, internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analytics to allow sellers to monitor their supply chain social sustainability efficiently and effectively.System implementation cost and potential challenges are analyzed before the research is concluded.

Overcoming the Blockchain Oracle Problem in the Traceability of Non-Fungible Products

“…The appeal of blockchain technology arises from its distinctive characteristics, which make it a valuable implementation for sustainability purposes [18,19], such as the immutability of its data, the availability of the information, and its transparence, as well as its distributed certification and reliability. During the first official round of interviews, the quality manager stated, "we are a peculiar dairy company, since every employee has the passion for information technology".…”

“…As sustainable innovation should also be economically viable, we build on this divergence of aims for blockchain's adoption to effectively address our research questions. Sustainability driven blockchain adoption involves a very narrow but important aspect of the economy, making models and inference less applicable on a broader scale [18,19]. In contrast, a value-driven approach to blockchain adoption undertaken by Italian SMEs could be easier to replicate for companies entering the market or simply changing their business model to a blockchain orientation.…”

The Unknown Potential of Blockchain for Sustainable Supply Chains

“…For example, retailers and governments can retrieve working hours from a blockchain network to judge whether companies are violating overtime limits and whether salaries are being paid to workers on time. These actions will be registered in a blockchain network, which can be considered a tool to support social sustainability certifications [71].…”

“…In this way, governments can effectively monitor all businesses involved in real time and prevent them from inappropriate behaviors in time. Yet, some workers may feel uncomfortable with wearable devices or worry about being monitored during their work, which can lead to a reluctance to cooperate with their employers [71].…”

Decentralized accessibility of e-commerce products through blockchain technology

“…The exploration of blockchain adaptability in supply chain management has been observed in [34], [35] and [36]. Some [19] more recent works for feasibility of blockchain in supply chain have explored in [37][38] [39]. The greening of blockchain involvement in supply chain is well discussed with pros and cons in [40].…”