Blockchain in Global Supply Chains and Cross Border Trade: A Critical Synthesis of the State-of-the-Art, Challenges and Opportunities

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current state, challenges, and opportunities of blockchain technology in global supply chains and cross-border trade, highlighting pilot initiatives and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive synthesis of blockchain applications, challenges, and potential impacts on global supply chain management and policy.

Findings

Blockchain enhances traceability and digitization in supply chains.

Pilot initiatives demonstrate practical applications of blockchain in logistics.

Challenges include scalability, integration, and regulatory issues.

Abstract

Blockchain in supply chain management is expected to boom over the next five years. It is estimated that the global blockchain supply chain market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 87% and increase from \$45 million in 2018 to \$3,314.6 million by 2023. Blockchain will improve business for all global supply chain stakeholders by providing enhanced traceability, facilitating digitisation, and securing chain-of-custody. This paper provides a synthesis of the existing challenges in global supply chain and trade operations, as well as the relevant capabilities and potential of blockchain. We further present leading pilot initiatives on applying blockchains to supply chains and the logistics industry to fulfill a range of needs. Finally, we discuss the implications of blockchain on customs and governmental agencies, summarize challenges in enabling the wide scale deployment of blockchain in global supply chain management, and identify future research directions.