Abstract
For constructing an irrepressible system for the supply chain, blockchain offers key support as a prominent implementation of the latest technological assistance by using a disseminated and dispersed system of records for mapping out the drive of merchandise and services within the supply chain. Prominently ensures transparency and vigorous linkage during the overall process. Blockchain contributes effectively towards diverse areas of the supply chain like foodstuff and agrarian domain, healthcare, and pharmacological domain for ensuring trustworthy supply chain arrangement. Besides other assistance, one of the crucial roles of blockchain is the perspective of supporting sustainability. This ensures the triple bottom line prospect which embraces the stability of ecological, communal, and governing business while dealing with supply chain arrangement. Therefore, blockchain provides disseminated, irreversible, translucent records, which can also track possible communal and ecological prospects that can enact ecological, health, and well-being apprehensions.
TopIntroduction
The evolution of technological support is appraised from the perspective of innovation and improved performance of industries. Nevertheless, besides improving the performing capabilities of industries, the importance of these innovative technologies must also be assessed in terms of sustainable practices and ensuring a sustainability agenda (Varriale et al., 2020). Supply chain management globally deals with encounters like immoral activities, deception, and damage to the environment (Chauduri et al., 2023). Changes around the world specifically due to the emergence of COVID imposed many concerns for business in terms of data exchanges and supply management systems and networks. While endeavoring to shape strong supply chain managing prospects, blockchain is becoming a noticeable instrument (Park & Li, 2021). This is one of the latest and most advanced technological supports designed to disperse and spread out a system to locate the movement of merchandise and services within supply chain prospects to ensure translucency and strong connection in the practice (Gul et al., 2023).
The Industrial Revolution and the emergence of industrial prospects of 4.0 are associated with the transfusion of societal apprehensions and the system of production and supply to customers by implying environmentally friendly and sustainable approaches (Parmentola et al., 2021). This transfusion is associated with the linkages of technological support with sustainability in organizational processes for ensuring a more sustainable society (Sharma et al., 2020). Therefore, industries are ever more changing by aligning profit maximization with the realization of environmental and societal welfare (Secinaro et al., 2020).
The supply chain system is changing with the changing demands of the industrial revolution and community, it becoming multifaceted due to the reasons, for example, inaccuracy chances, interrupted services, and environmental concerns. Literature asserted that 66% of inaccuracy is manmade. All the densities are the cause of a reduction in performance standards and monetary damage to industries (Punter, 2013). Businesses operating internationally, transport merchandise across borders. Which includes time and plenty of correspondence between parties. This process causes costs to the involved parties in the form of damage to merchandise, time, scams, and tariffs (Popper & Lohr, 2017).
While sustainability-focused supply chain arrangement consists of the coordination of participants/ shareholders, data, and assets included in the movement of merchandise and/ or services from traders to consumers, with the focus on avoiding the exhaustion of natural reserves while keeping environmental stability (Sunmola, 2021). Consequently, the goal of supply chain sustainability consists of the stakeholders who are linked with the sustainable agenda like commercial, communal, and ecological concerns. The basis of supply chain sustainability lies in the excellence of records, discernibility, and better judgment on choices (Barratt & Barratt, 2011). Within the supply chain system, discernibility represents the degree to which parties involved in the supply chain have entree to time-bound and accuracy of facts and records which are crucial and significant for overall supply chain systems and processes (Chen & Kitsis, 2017).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Sustainable Supply Chain: Supply chains are aiming to decrease wastage and also improving efficiencies. While adding new technological support, for example, blockchain technology based on connecting disrupted records, databanks, and involved parties within overall supply chain can improve competences and warrants costs savings and time saving (Upadhyay, 2021 AU160: The in-text citation "Upadhyay, 2021" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Blockchain Technology: Blockchain is asserted as a joint disrupted log system, which stores all completed transactional records within series of blocks. This series will grow continually with the addition of new block in a sequential order. The fundamentals of blockchain are decentralized system, obstinate, privacy, and scrutiny ( Zheng et al., 2018 ).
Industry 4.0: The fourth industrial revolution focuses on the development prospects of community, with the emphasis on the methods of producing merchandizes and associated process consistent with the agenda of sustainable environment. Therefore aiming on the incorporation of industry 4.0 technological support and digital optimization with the sustainability goals and ensuring sustainable society ( Parmentola et al., 2021 ).
Triple Bottom Line (TBL): The conception of triple bottom line emphasized on the focus of industries towards 1) economic, 2) societal and 3) ecological concerns and performing accordingly.