SNF: Foundation of distributed ledgers in supply chain management: Theory development, practical applicability and critical reflection
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
2018
End Date
2021
Status
completed
Keywords
Design science Research
case study Research
distributed ledger Technology
blockchain Technology
autonomous decision making
supply chain management
Description
Die Distributed Ledger Technologie (DLT) und ihre bislang bekannteste Form, die Blockchain Technologie (BCT), wird weithin als bahnbrechende Innovation wahrgenommen und nach ersten Anwendungen im Finanzsektor (z.B. Kryptowährungen) auch im Supply Chain Management (SCM) diskutiert. Besonders im SCM werden enorme Potentiale erwartet. Bislang ist jedoch noch unerforscht, welchen Einfluss (theoretischer und praktischer Natur) die Technologie tatsächlich auf das SCM haben wird und in welchen Anwendungsgebieten die Technologie einen Beitrag leisten kann. Aufgrund der Neuartigkeit der Technologie ist bisher auch die Frage unbeantwortet, wie DLT in den Operations von Unternehmen genutzt werden kann (Technologieadaption).
Das übergeordnete Ziel dieses Forschungsprojektes ist es, die theoretischen Grundlagen für DLT im SCM zu legen. Diese dienen als Basis für weiterführende Forschungsvorhaben und die praktische Anwendung von BCT in Supply Chains. Im Detail werden (i) die grundlegenden Voraussetzungen der DLT untersucht, die im SCM einen Wertbeitrag liefern können. Des Weiteren wird im Forschungsprojekt (ii) die Anwendbarkeit der Technologie im SCM analysiert und dadurch zukünftige Anwendungsbereiche aufgedeckt. Ausserdem werden (iii) theoretische und praktische Änderungen, die durch den Einsatz der Technologie zu erwarten sind, analysiert. Einerseits werden erforderliche Anpassungen des forschungsmethodischen Vorgehens analysiert. Die Dynamik der Entwicklung von DLT erfordert eine Anpassung des Vorgehens. Andererseits werden auf praktischer Seite die benötigten Ressourcen für den Einsatz der Technologie sowie deren Implementierungsprozess erforscht.
Das übergeordnete Ziel dieses Forschungsprojektes ist es, die theoretischen Grundlagen für DLT im SCM zu legen. Diese dienen als Basis für weiterführende Forschungsvorhaben und die praktische Anwendung von BCT in Supply Chains. Im Detail werden (i) die grundlegenden Voraussetzungen der DLT untersucht, die im SCM einen Wertbeitrag liefern können. Des Weiteren wird im Forschungsprojekt (ii) die Anwendbarkeit der Technologie im SCM analysiert und dadurch zukünftige Anwendungsbereiche aufgedeckt. Ausserdem werden (iii) theoretische und praktische Änderungen, die durch den Einsatz der Technologie zu erwarten sind, analysiert. Einerseits werden erforderliche Anpassungen des forschungsmethodischen Vorgehens analysiert. Die Dynamik der Entwicklung von DLT erfordert eine Anpassung des Vorgehens. Andererseits werden auf praktischer Seite die benötigten Ressourcen für den Einsatz der Technologie sowie deren Implementierungsprozess erforscht.
Leader contributor(s)
Partner(s)
Jan Holmström, Aalto University, Finland
Dale S. Rogers, Arizona State University, USA
Funder
Method(s)
Design science research
Case study research
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Principal
SNF
Division(s)
Eprints ID
247611
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Item type:Publication, Distributed ledger technology in supply chains
An information processing view(2019-06); - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, PharmaQuick: Implementation of a blockchain-based temperature monitoring system (Teaching Case)After the revision of guidelines by the European Commission in March 2013 requiring continuous temperature monitoring of medicinal products during transport, the Swiss logistics service provider PharmaQuick faced the challenge of not only modifying their business practice to fulfill the guidelines, but also to simultaneously gain a competitive advantage with the implementation of superior technology. According to the new guidelines, the company would have to be able to provide evidence for complying with the allowed temperature ranges pre-defined by the manufacturers. Compliance for the transport of products that required low ambient temperatures usually remained unchecked, as clients of PharmaQuick refused to pay the fee for active temperature monitoring. This refusal was mostly communicated orally or unofficially, providing no hard evidence in case of a dispute. In the face of rising regulatory pressure, PharmaQuick implemented a short-term solution based on active temperature controlling and cellular data transmission with cooling trucks. However, this change multiplied the costs and, in the eyes of Dean Sprouts—business development manager at PharmaQuick, was not economically sustainable for the company. For this reason, Sprouts had to find a long-term solution that allows for compliance with the GDP’s requirements and improves transparency and traceability along the transportation supply chain at the same time. In particular, he had to assess whether blockchain technology within a cooperation with Modum constituted such a long-term solution. The presented case study is based on a fictitious company that represents a customer of the Swiss startup Modum. In this decision-based case, students are asked to put themselves in the role of the protagonist, Dean Sprout. They need to analyze the challenge faced and evaluate the solution pursued by the protagonist. The case takes place in the pharmaceutical sector in Switzerland in the year 2017. The key topics are supply chain management (SCM), external influence factors, data management, process optimization and blockchain technology (BCT).Type:case studyIssue:CASE-Reference no. 620-0029-1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, modum.io: Funding a Blockchain-Based Start-Up's Supply Chain Solution (Teaching Note)This teaching case can be used for different audiences – for executives, postgraduates and young entrepreneurs as well as students. These groups should have a background in one of the two fields: - For an audience with IS background that wants to learn more about startup financing and supply chains especially in the pharmaceutical industry. - For an audience with finance background that wants to study new opportunities of startup financing, get to know blockchain technology (BCT), ICOs as well pharmaceutical supply chains. - For an audience with operations and supply chain background that wants to open up to startup financing and BCT as well as ICO topics. Depending on the background, the case teacher should decide upon the listed references, what the students should read. This teaching case should be worked on over the period of at least three days. As the topic is complex and the audience will need to get to know two new fields, further reading and additional research on the topics BCT/ICO, startup financing and pharmaceutical supply chain is required.Type:case studyIssue:N5-420-007 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Foundational premises and value drivers of blockchain-driven supply chains: the trade finance experienceThe recent hype about blockchain technology and its abilities has led to a reconsideration of existing structures in the field of finance. With a bigger focus on efficient transaction processing, interaction and automation, the underlying concept of a distributed ledger has also showed feasibility for a much broader field. For this reason, the objective of this article lies in a first evaluation of this technology for blockchain-driven supply chains by taking a closer look at potential use cases and existing applications, particularly supply chain operations and trade finance. By aligning all relevant data streams on a digital scale, it is possible not only to make trading processes significantly more functional, but also to improve regulatory control through elimination of redundant practices. A digital, autonomous, decentralized, and distributed network would be applicable to a countless number of services. The initial concept for trade finance provides here a foundation to close the gap between vague assumptions and practical contributions in supply chain management.Type:book section - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Emergence of Blockchain Technology: Implications for Operations and Supply Chain ManagementIn this article, we review the possibilities arising from the emergence of blockchain technology on operations and supply chain management (OSCM). This is the third part in a series of articles investigating rising digital technologies and their impact to operations and supply chain management. A short history and an introduction to blockchain technology are provided followed by a review of the current and future applications where this technology can change manufacturing and operations management. Moreover, we discuss the obstacles faced by this technology and how those can be overcome.Type:newspaper articleJournal:Stoori - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Mastering the onboarding challenge: The case of information processing in distributed ledgers in supply chains(2019-11-24); Hofmann, ErikType:conference paperJournal:DSI 50th Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference, New Orleans, USA, November 23-25, 2019 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Chains in Chains - Impact of Blockchain Technology on Supply Chain Transactions(2018-09); - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Unmasking blockchain in supply chains(2020-11); ; ; Hofmann, ErikToday, blockchain is frequently subject to collective eye-rolling. And with good reason. Who doesn’t immediately associate blockchain with the cryptocurrency bitcoin, which has its own curious providence. Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an unknown person or group of persons. And while a paper from Satoshi Nakamoto is attributed with being the first on bitcoin, no one knows who Nakamoto is. Bitcoin went through some changes in “ownership” early on, which did little to make the cryptocurrency more transparent despite its consistent reliance on blockchain technology to track and secure transactions. Meanwhile, the value of one bitcoin has ranged from 30 cents to nearly $20,000. As a result, there is wide disagreement from bank CEOs to investors as to the usefulness of bitcoin as a cryptocurrency. Some go so far as to call it a scam. Most unfortunately, the word clarity is not always associated with bitcoin. And blockchain suffers to an extent from guilt by association. And that is part of blockchain’s current image problem. Any marketing person would tell you that blockchain the brand needs a major repositioning. Some of that process is happening now as a result of successful and practical initiatives in finance, trade and real estate demonstrate the value of blockchain with regards to transaction governance. In addition, supply chain management, especially purchasing and logistics, is beginning to prove the value of the technology to these complex activities. That said, we wanted to know more precisely what is holding back blockchain in supply chain. So, we surveyed 115 Swiss shippers and logistics service providers of all sizes in late 2019. Forty-eight percent of respondents are at companies with more than 100 employees with nearly half of that at companies with more than 1,000 employees. More than 40% of the companies have revenues of $51 million plus. The survey is part of an annual survey done by the Institute of Supply Chain Management at the University of St. Gallen on the logistics market in Switzerland.Type:newspaper articleJournal:Supply Chain Management ReviewVolume:November Issue - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Foundation of Distributed Ledger Technology for Supply Chain Management(2020-01-09)Distributed ledger technology (DLT) appears to be one of the most promising technologies in the field of supply chain management (SCM). However, as the technology is still evolving, only limited empirical evidence has been analyzed, managers and scientific scholars alike seek to understand how DLT can help improving SCM. This study aims to shed light into the current DLT applications in SCM to identify the foundation of the technology for SCM and uncover what DLT brings to the table. It develops seven foundational characteristics of DLT in SCM that describe both the nature of DLT and its characteristics for SCM. The study reveals that DLTs are interorganizational information systems that are diverse in their realizations and enable modular platform ecosystems. Nowadays application in SCM build on steady data availability, selective transparency, high authenticity and a source of mutual trust.Type:conference paperVolume:Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Enhancing Transparency in the Supply Chain: An Information Processing PerspectiveWhile nowadays’ need to enhance transparency in supply chains (TSC) seems undisputable, supply chain management (SCM) scholars and practitioners lack an operationalization of the phenomenon and a clear understanding of how to enhance TSC. This study aims to address this need by applying a multiple case study design with 24 awarded or industry-wide good practice solutions to disclose how focal companies can enhance TSC. Drawing on information processing theory (IPT), this study contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon by placing TSC in context and identifying 29 TSC determinants that have to be attained in order to enhance TSC. The study reveals that although the targeted effect of enhanced TSC is mainly beneficial for the focal company, it requires all relevant supply chain partners to enhance TSC. By presenting the TSC determinants that are required on an intra-firm and inter-organizational level to enhance TSC, we elaborate IPT in the context of TSC.Type:conference paper
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