Blockchain Technology for Future Supply Chain Management

Dear Colleagues,

Over the years, the supply chain of custody has become increasingly complex as a result of massive globalization. Several factors including the addition of multiple partners or stages, potential security risks to products and services, the trustworthiness of processes, and the privacy of user data are critical factors that question the efficiency and management of existing systems. This necessitates the development of a single supply chain model by adopting recent technological advancements such as blockchain. Blockchain can heavily transform the behavior of the supply chain community to and allow it to adhere to all legitimate businesses requirements. Complementing blockchain with IoT would facilitate an acute awareness of supply chain transactions with complete traceability and auditing at each instance of time, from the past, present, or future. Furthermore, blockchain and AI are integral to each other as AI systems can help to analyze data, authenticate users, and improve the process efficiency of blockchain-based supply chain systems. Supply chain systems are also susceptible to potential security risks, where the adoption of a Cyber Security Maturity Model (CSSM) can safeguard blockchain-based supply chain systems across multiple industries from pharmaceutical and higher education to aviation and maritime. In fact, AI-enabled blockchain deployed on the cloud for supply chains using IoT for process optimization and CSSM as a security standard may serve as a foundation for an efficient supply chain across different sectors of industry.

This Special Issue invites scientific contributions proposing new, innovative, and original approaches, review works, case studies, and evaluations of the existing commercial blockchain-assisted supply chain solutions. This issue aims to provide an opportunity for academics and practitioners to share their theoretical and practical knowledge in the field, with the aim to move the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice forward. This Special Issue particularly focuses on, but is not limited to, articles addressing the following:

• Resilient, transparent, and trusted supply chains;
• Authenticity and mitigation of counterfeit products;
• Blockchain on the cloud for supply chains;
• Responsible sourcing and better visibility to minimize disputes;
• The role of the Cyber Security Maturity Model and governance in adopting blockchain for supply chains;
• Blockchain and Self Sovereign Identity (SSI);
• Supply chain transparency;
• Power of artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain management;
• Supply chain synchronisation;
• Supply chain cost optimisation;
• Privacy-preserving customer authentication technologies;
• Trust and legal implications;
• AI-based price comparison models;
• Resource sharing models;
• The role of 5G and 6G, blockchain, and AI in future technologies;
• Governance of higher education, pharmaceutical, aviation, and maritime supply chains;
• Supply chain risk management and vulnerability;
• Smart contracts and blockchain;
• Combining NFC-authenticated tags with NFTs to spot counterfeit luxury products;
• Cryptocurrency adoption for supply chains.

Prof. Dr. Hamid Jahankhani
Guest Editor

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