The areas of application of blockchain in a supply chain to improve its operations
Gonzalez, Pablo (2022)
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060615640
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060615640
Tiivistelmä
The goal of this work was to explore the emerging technology known as blockchain and how it can be used for supply chain management. One of the main objectives was to find out if companies can benefit from blockchain and if the technology is suitable for such applications today.
The theoretical framework was built to first fully understand what blockchain technology and supply chain management are. After explaining the two concepts, the author explains how blockchain can be applied to supply chains in general. The last part deals with the challenges of blockchain and especially the scalability issues.
The study was conducted as a qualitative research using with experts in blockchain and supply chain management. Participants were contacted via LinkedIn after completing a background check in their areas of expertise. The insights gained from the survey were supplemented by the interviews with the experts.
After the qualitative research, it can be assumed that blockchain would be a perfect solution to the current obstacles in supply chain management. The main challenges can be addressed with blockchain capabilities. Still, some results were inconlusive due to the divided arguments gathered from experts in the interviews and desktop research conducted by the author. The ambiguity and complexity of blockchain play a large role in its perception. Scalability remains a challenge for businesses, for which there is no clear solution.
In summary, blockchain can help businesses with many modern setbacks they often face. However, due to the lack of understanding of the technology and its technical limitations, it can also lead to disadvantages for its users.
The theoretical framework was built to first fully understand what blockchain technology and supply chain management are. After explaining the two concepts, the author explains how blockchain can be applied to supply chains in general. The last part deals with the challenges of blockchain and especially the scalability issues.
The study was conducted as a qualitative research using with experts in blockchain and supply chain management. Participants were contacted via LinkedIn after completing a background check in their areas of expertise. The insights gained from the survey were supplemented by the interviews with the experts.
After the qualitative research, it can be assumed that blockchain would be a perfect solution to the current obstacles in supply chain management. The main challenges can be addressed with blockchain capabilities. Still, some results were inconlusive due to the divided arguments gathered from experts in the interviews and desktop research conducted by the author. The ambiguity and complexity of blockchain play a large role in its perception. Scalability remains a challenge for businesses, for which there is no clear solution.
In summary, blockchain can help businesses with many modern setbacks they often face. However, due to the lack of understanding of the technology and its technical limitations, it can also lead to disadvantages for its users.