Blockchain empowers supply chains: challenges, opportunities and prospects

Purpose - The advantages of blockchain technology are being widely discussed by academics, the business community and government, because blockchain can promote data sharing, optimise business processes, reduce operation costs, improve collaborative efficiency and build credible systems. The supply chain is becoming a key area for the application of blockchain technology. However, few studies have discussed the effect of such emerging technologies on the supply chain in depth. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse how blockchain empowers supply chain and promotes supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach - Based on a review of relevant literature and blockchain applications in practice, this paper analyses the development and research status of blockchain technologies. In addition, considering the different operational processes within the supply chain, the authors discuss the opportunities and challenges of blockchain technologies, such as the transparency of supply, intelligent manufacturing, the security of logistics, the platformisation of sales and the ecology of governance. Findings - The authors find that information sharing, information traceability and trust establishment are the key categories of research achievements and applications of supply chain management. The central issues for blockchain researchers are the authenticity of transaction data, the traceability of long supply chains and the establishment of trust for all participants. Originality/value - From the practical and theoretical perspectives, this paper shows the development of blockchain technologies to clarify the challenges, opportunities and prospects. This paper elucidates and facilitates the development of emerging interdisciplinary research and the practice of supply chain.