Block Chain for Supply Chain Transparency and Product Traceability in a Circular Economy
摘要
The circular economy is crucial to ensure transparency in the supply chain and traceability of products. Blockchain offers a very innovative way to solve problems posed by collaboration among stakeholders, data reliability, and regulatory compliance with its decentralized, immutable ledger. This chapter focuses on experimentally analyzing blockchain integration into circular supply chains in terms of real-time product tracking, lifecycle management, and reverse logistics. Hyperledger Fabric was used to put in place a permissioned blockchain network connecting suppliers, manufacturers, logistics companies, and recyclers. Smart contracts were then used to automate verification processes to guarantee secure sharing of data and process transparency. Several scenarios were simulated, assessing key performance indicators such as throughput for transactions, correctness of traceability, and time to validate data. According to the results, the technology increased supply chain visibility by 50% over traditional systems and minimized traceability errors by 35%. In addition, the ability of the blockchain to enable the verification of product origin decreased the chances of counterfeiting and raised the level of trust in consumers. Moreover, this chapter discusses the environmental implications of blockchain from the point of view of maximizing utility and minimizing waste. These results provide some insights into the operational feasibility and sustainability of broadening the scope for the application of blockchain technology in supply chain management. Thus, further evaluation could consider cross-chain interoperability and incorporation of IoT sensors for more granular data acquisition.