Value Proposition Assessment of Blockchain Technology for Luxury, Food, and Healthcare Supply Chains

Abstract

Background: In relevant research, blockchain technology (BCT) is credited with great potential for supply chain management (SCM). However, even after more than 10 years of the technology’s existence, it is barely used for any self-sustaining applications. This raises the question of why BC cannot prevail against its alternatives. With this paper we want to identify criteria by which the added value of BCT can be measured. Furthermore, we want to evaluate how well the different supply chains (SC) exploit the added values of BCT. Methods: For this, we identified real-world examples and case studies for luxury, food, and healthcare SCs. These examples are described in detail and then analyzed for their added value compared to possible alternatives. Results: The results show that in the clusters of food and healthcare SCs, no general added value of BC over current best-practice solutions could be verified. Luxury SCs manage valuable products that are typically traded in small quantities. It is within this cluster that the implementation of BC can be justified best. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that the application of BCT is especially beneficial for goods with a high value and low trade volume. In addition, the interface between reality and the digital twin should be as secure as the database or BC solution itself. Furthermore, the demand for transparency and immutability of data should be more important than the need to protect sensitive data. Finally, SC participants, especially the end customer, must also be able to appreciate the advantages of BCT.

Blockchain Technology for Renewable Energy: Principles, Applications and Prospects

“…Furthermore, the role of blockchain in fostering renewable energy technologies, circular economy, as well as electric mobility, and charging will remain an important area of future research in the blockchain and energy fields [84]. Lastly, as blockchain is expected to revolutionize supply chains, future research should examine its impact on global and local energy supply chains and the concept of sustainable supply chain management [18,19,39,43,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64].…”

Blockchain for Ecologically Embedded Coffee Supply Chains

“…The relationship of the supply chain single-case exemplar with the end user in terms of health and safety is lacking in terms of establishing consumer trust for the delivery of an unadulterated product. Literature has noted that supply chain participants, especially the end customers, need to be able to appreciate the advantages of blockchain technology [33]. There is no direct connection between the blockchain and product quality from the consumer perspective.…”

“…However, the importance of technology in enabling ecological embeddedness is rarely considered or analyzed [31] and how blockchain could specifically support the ecological embeddedness of supply chains has yet to be fully considered [32]. There is a general lack of published case studies and concrete examples of the use of blockchain technology [33]. This study addresses this gap by investigating the potential contributions of blockchain to the ecological embeddedness of global supply chains using a case exemplar.…”

Blockchain Technology toward Creating a Smart Local Food Supply Chain

“…Besides the food manufacturing companies, examples show that large IT companies have also shown interest in blockchain technology for FSCM. Previous food scandals influenced food producers to generate a competitive advantage by securing trustworthy origin proof [79]. That leads to the point that implementing blockchain in FSCM can increase the confidence of consumers [85].…”