The Need for Blockchain-Based Supply Chain Management Systems
Supply chains, a core infrastructure of the global economy, are undergoing unprecedented transformation, increasing the need for supply chain management techniques to mitigate risks and support sustainable supply chain operations. In particular, pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, protectionist trade policies, and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters driven by climate change have demonstrated that traditional supply chain management systems are no longer sustainable. Amidst these crises, blockchain technology is gaining attention as an alternative to revolutionize supply chain management by ensuring data visibility and enabling more intelligent decision-making.
Blockchain Technology Adoption Cases and Issues
The application of blockchain technology in supply chain management has been confirmed by several global companies, and efforts are continuing to expand its use. In the distribution industry, blockchain adoption has been active, focusing on traceability systems that track the entire logistics flow from origin to sale. The international logistics industry, characterized by the sharing of information among diverse participants, including shipping companies, forwarders, and customs officials, is working to establish a blockchain-based container transport information sharing system. In the manufacturing industry, major global manufacturers are testing blockchain systems to track supply chain information for parts and raw materials.
While blockchain has been tested in various ways, its full-scale adoption in logistics and supply chain management remains limited. Key issues include security concerns related to information sharing, the burden of sharing information that could potentially provide a competitive advantage, the higher-than-expected costs of system maintenance, which limits immediate profitability, and the difficulty of securing a differentiating factor through blockchain adoption.
Opportunities for Blockchain Technology to Be Introduced into the Supply Chain
Recent technological and social changes are highlighting the potential for leveraging blockchain's strengths to differentiate itself through transparent information sharing and decentralized services. Technological changes include minimizing information shared on blockchain, providing separate storage, and using digital passports to hide details. Furthermore, the growing adoption of stablecoins is expected to enable the construction of end-to-end integrated systems that support everything from information tracking to payment settlement and transaction completion, powered by blockchain and smart contracts. Social demands for ESG are rapidly increasing the importance of transparent monitoring of transaction data both internally and externally within companies, and blockchain has emerged as the most effective technology to meet this demand. The rapid advancement of AI technologies based on large-scale language models is increasing the need for large-scale data acquisition. Blockchain has the potential to become a crucial foundation for the AI transition by providing a mechanism for transparently and efficiently managing and sharing diverse data within the supply chain.
Conclusion and Implications
Stablecoins, ESG information disclosure, and the transformation of industry through AI, combined with blockchain technology, are expected to fundamentally transform the logistics supply chain. Blockchain is not only used for information sharing; its integration with stablecoins, smart contracts, and AI is expected to contribute to automating the entire process between supply chain participants, from initiating transactions to real-time data monitoring, payment settlement, and transaction settlement. In the long term, if a data token economy is developed, where companies automatically assign value to the data they provide to the blockchain based on its quality, real-timeness, scarcity, and usability, and receive immediate compensation in tokens corresponding to the value, enabling data sharing, blockchain is expected to play a key role in the transaction mechanism that contributes to supply chain advancement.
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