Chapter 3: Blockchain-based Framework: Robust Retail Supply Chain System

In today’s ever-changing business environment, organizations must manage their supply chains effectively and efficiently if they hope to survive. The increasing interconnectivity and globalization of supply chains have resulted in greater complexity, uncertainty, and vulnerability. As a result, supply chains need to become more intelligent to overcome these challenges. Blockchain, as one of the emerging technologies, allows for peer-to-peer distributed networks, where all transactions are verified and visible to all parties, without the need for intermediaries (Christidis & Devetsikiotis, 2016).

The use of blockchain technology has been put into practice in numerous fields, comprising financial services, agriculture, manufacturing, food, airlines, hotels, SCM, and the healthcare industry. Blockchain technology improves traceability, visibility, credibility, authenticity, automation, accumulation, resiliency, correctness, prompt decision-making, lower costs, and the general efficacy of the supply chain as well as the satisfaction of consumers (Babich & Hilary, 2018). By documenting and distributing transactions more efficiently along supply chains, blockchain technology reduces the time needed for transaction settlement and authentication. It can also be employed to monitor the documentation of each item’s travel along the supply chain.