Blockchain Technology for Enhancing Traceability and Efficiency in Automobile Supply Chain—A Case Study

Nesrin Ada, Manavalan Ethirajan, Anil Kumar, Vimal K.E.k, Simon Peter Nadeem, Yigit Kazancoglu and Jayakrishna Kandasamy
Additional contact information
Nesrin Ada: Department of Business Administration, Ege University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Manavalan Ethirajan: School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
Anil Kumar: Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, London EC2M 6SQ, UK
Vimal K.E.k: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Patna 800005, Bihar, India
Simon Peter Nadeem: Centre for Supply Chain Improvement, University of Derby, Derby SK17 6RY, UK
Yigit Kazancoglu: Department of Logistics Management, Yasar University, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Jayakrishna Kandasamy: School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: A robust traceability system would help organizations in inventory optimization reduce lead time and improve customer service and quality which further enables the organizations to be a leader in their industry sector. This research study analyzes the challenges faced by the automotive industry in its supply chain operations. Further, the traceability issues and waiting time at different nodes of the supply chain are considered to be priority issues that affect the overall supply chain efficiency in the automotive supply chain. After studying the existing blockchain architectures and their implementation methodology, this study proposes a new blockchain-based architecture to improve traceability and reduce waiting time for the automotive supply chain. A hyper ledger fabric-based blockchain architecture is developed to track the ownership transfers in inbound and outbound logistics. The simulation results of the proposed hyper ledger fabric-based blockchain architecture show that there is an improvement in the traceability of items at different nodes of the supply chain that enhances the Inventory Quality Ratio (IQR) and the mean waiting time is reduced at the factory, wholesaler, and retailer, which thereby improves the overall supply chain efficiency. The blockchain embedded supply chain is more capable to eliminate the risks and uncertainties associated with the automotive supply chain. The benefits of adopting blockchain technology in the automotive supply chain are also described. The developed blockchain-based framework is capable to get more visibility into goods movement and inventory status in automotive supply chains.

Keywords: automotive supply chains; blockchain; simulation; case study; Industry 4.0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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