Potentials of blockchain technology in supply chain management: Long-term judgments of an international expert panel

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 161; p. 120330
• Main Authors: Kopyto, Matthias, Lechler, Sabrina, von der Gracht, Heiko A., Hartmann, Evi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.12.2020; Elsevier B.V; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Blockchain; Cryptography; Decision making; Delphi study; Empirical analysis; Expert judgments; Future; Logistics; Management; Supply chain; Supply chain management; Supply chains; Technology; Trustworthiness; Supply chain; Expert judgments; Future; Delphi study; Technology; Blockchain
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120330

•Despite blockchain technology, active trust management is gaining in importance .•Data availability and authenticity are supply chain management specific barriers.•Smart contracts are expected to be most beneficial for efficiency improvement.•The transfer of physical evidence into digital information is prone to manipulation.•A high specialized workforce is needed for utilization of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology offers numerous fields of application, especially for supply chain management (SCM), as it could supersede the middleman activities in many transaction-based processes along the supply chain. Blockchain technology has a disruptive impact on supply chain design and operations, making the exploration of future application scenarios of great importance. However, knowledge in this field remains scarce, despite the subject's strategical value. This empirical study addresses this gap by conducting an interdisciplinary Delphi survey. Long-term judgments from an international panel of 108 designated experts from academia, industry, and politics/associations with different context-related backgrounds (blockchain, SCM, hybrid functions) were systematically analyzed. The results reveal prospective scenarios how blockchains will be applied in SCM by 2035 and which SCM-specific obstacles need to be solved in advance. One key finding reveals that even though blockchain technology is said to enable transactions between untrusted parties, trust-related advantages of blockchain technology are not directly transferable to SCM without additional conditions. Counterintuitively, active trust management between supply chain partners will still be needed. Nonetheless, this research reveals that blockchain technology will be strongly applied in SCM by 2035 and thus provides beneficial orientation and stimulating perspectives for decision-makers in the field.