Blockchain Supply Chain Integration Relation

Introduction

Supply Chain refers to the process of moving goods between stakeholders and parties according to the agreement about quality and timing. The affiliation of consumers, suppliers, and stakeholders in such a way that they may communicate information effortlessly and maximise their collective productivity in the production, distribution, and support of an end product is referred to as supply chain integration. This process is continuous and requires significant transparent alignment and coordination in order to ensure that everyone is working toward a common, aligned goal effectively at all times, when each and every individual or party involved is aware of important events taking place at every level of the chain.

Supply Chain has undergone a dynamic change under the industrialization era, and with the advancement of technologies, it has grown to be more self-sustaining, transparent as well as integrated. With the onset of digitalization, the separate tasks have become more integrated, allowing for efficient communication and a reduction in delays between the different stages beginning from the procurement of the raw goods to shipping out the final goods. It has also eliminated the need for more storage space and helped manufacturers and businesses reduce the cost of manufacturing, delivering and marketing the product.

Blockchain is a distributed, transparent, and immutable ledger that simplifies the process of to record transactions and assets. It also shares this data with network nodes that have permission to access it. Almost anything that has some value can be tracked with the help of Blockchain. Over the years, blockchain technologies have been the backbone of many cryptocurrency assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

One of the current challenges faced by supply chain integration is the lack of transparency and end-to-end visibility. This can cause customer and cost related issues, which can be quite harmful to a brand name in the wrong. Another big challenge that is an issue with most supply chains is the lack of transparency. (National Research Council, (2000))Most of these issues can be fixed with Blockchain Technology. Blockchain is transforming the way supply chain functions. Not only does it help improve the traceability and transparency in supply chain management, but it can go a long way in reducing costs, reducing risks and increasing the overall efficiency. With the help of it, one can go an extra mile to ensure that the quality of the product being delivered to the end user is at least of the bare minimum quality standards promised by the company, at reasonable or pre-decided prices. Since the entire system is highly transparent in nature, with accountability and details related to the product. This information is accessible to system participants at each specific level, including suppliers, manufacturers, couriers, and end-users, which promotes confidence between them. Thus, blockchain ensures “only version of the truth” at all stages starting from serialisation, shipping, receiving to installation, such that if someone tries to attempt a fraud, they will be out of sync with the entire system, and can be easily detected as a threat actor to the supply chain.

Using blockchain, one can maintain a chronological string of blocks involving all parties in the transaction. Such details aren't recorded in a financial-ledger system. Smart contracts can be issued to automatically trigger transactions. In the case of blockchain, where there is no central authority to control the data, i.e., blockchain is decentralised, data integrity is an issue for different entities on the supply chain. Linking the blockchain with the Internet of Things and smart contracts can help solve this issue. Financial systems can be automated to process payments and transactions once feedback is received from a sensor or an automated data source or reaches a particular stage in the supply chain as well as integration with existing infrastructure.