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.
Leader contributor(s)
Hofmann, Erik
Partner(s)
Jan Holmström, Aalto University, Finland
Dale S. Rogers, Arizona State University, USA
Funder(s)
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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  • Publication
    TradeIX: Blockchain-Enabled Trade Finance in Global Supply Chains (Teaching Case)
    (Ivey Publishing, 2020-08-11)
    Hofmann, Erik
    ;
    Enthoven, Maximilian
    ;
    Fallegger, Sara
    In accordance with the announcement of its new strategy, Warehousing & Co—one of the largest logistics companies worldwide—began an initiative through Robert Barnes — CEO of TradeIX — to optimize its working capital management in 2017. However, the potential for improvement in the realm of trade finance was heavily restricted by not only a complex network of suppliers but also by siloed inter-organizational data flows. For this reason, Global 3PL initiated a pilot project with TradeIX, a Dublin-based startup that offered a blockchain-based platform managing trade finance, especially receivables finance. Essentially, the platform solution, called Marco Polo platform, connected bank and insurance to a secure network, enabling full transparency during interim financing of accounts receivables. Despite the success of a trial run of using the Marco Polo platform, it had to be assessed on a technological and strategic level, whether this proved a long-term sustainable solution for full operation across Global 3PL's global trade finance system landscape. In this decision-oriented teaching case based on a real situation, students are asked to put themselves in the role of the protagonist, Robert Barnes. They need to analyze the challenge faced and evaluate the solution pursued by the protagonist. The teaching case takes place in the field of trade finance. The key topics are trade finance, working capital management, supply chain management (SCM), data management, process optimization and blockchain technology (BCT).
    Type: case study
    Issue: 9B20E016s
    URL: https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=110865
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/111887
  • Publication
    Type: conference paper
    Journal: DSI 50th Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference, New Orleans, USA, November 23-25, 2019
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/98012
  • Publication
    Unmasking blockchain in supply chains
    ( 2020-11)
    Enthoven, Maximilian
    ;
    Röck, Dominik
    ;
    Mathauer, Mathias
    ;
    Hofmann, Erik
    Today, 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 article
    Journal: Supply Chain Management Review
    Volume: November Issue
    URL: https://www.scmr.com/article/unmasking_blockchain_in_supply_chains
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/111611
  • Publication
    The Foundation of Distributed Ledger Technology for Supply Chain Management
    ( 2020-01-09)
    Röck, Dominik
    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 paper
    Volume: Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/112477
  • Publication
    modum.io: Funding a Blockchain-Based Start-Up's Supply Chain Solution (Teaching Case)
    (Harvard Business School, 2019-12-18)
    Huang, Laura
    ;
    Röck, Dominik
    ;
    Murray, Alex
    ;
    Hofmann, Erik
    At the end of June 2017, the founder of modum.io AG, Marc D., was preparing for an important meeting that would take place the next day with a major investor when he received an email. The goal of the meeting was to negotiate the final terms of a commitment. However, the email from the investor indicated that the negotiations related to modum.io would not make it onto the agenda. After months of promising discussions, the entrepreneur was disappointed by this unexpected decision. With a limited cash flow, the founders faced two choices: (1) provide a cash bridge until the negotiations could resume or (2) come up with an alternative plan. Modum.io was focused on one core business idea: streamlining supply chain processes by combining innovative technologies and proprietary hardware to provide an efficient, reliable, and secure shipment monitoring solution. More specifically, modum.io’s first use-case was aimed at monitoring temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products in the supply chain. Their sensor devices are connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), and the collected data is stored on the blockchain to ensure integrity and authenticity.
    Type: case study
    Issue: N9-420-006
    URL: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/420006-PDF-ENG
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/97936
  • Publication
    The Emergence of Blockchain Technology: Implications for Operations and Supply Chain Management
    (Suomen Tuotannonohjausyhdistys ry, 2021-02)
    Enthoven, Maximilian
    ;
    Khajavi, Siavash
    In 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 article
    Journal: Stoori
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/110680
  • Publication
    modum.io (B): Bidding Farewell to Crypto
    (Harvard Business School, 2021-03)
    Huang, Laura
    ;
    Enthoven, Maximilian
    ;
    Murray, Alex
    ;
    Hofmann, Erik
    After a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in the fall of 2017, the Switzerland-based supply chain technology company modum.io began trading its MOD token on various exchanges. The financial resources generated from the token sale set up the modum.io team to focus on operations, launch the company’s product, increase revenue, onboard new customers, and hire new staff. In the course of the cryptocurrency bear market of 2018–2019, however, the value of the MOD token deteriorated to the point where it was delisted from major exchanges. Mainly caused by the lack of regulatory compliance of security tokens on the exchanges, these delistings partially killed the liquidity of the MOD token. In light of market and regulatory developments, and with external pressure increasing, modum.io scrambled to identify alternatives to solve its predicament. In 2019, cofounder Marc Degen and his partners decided to elaborate different options in order to secure the future of modum.io while simultaneously offering a satisfactory solution for all stakeholders. In their discussions, they saw three potential paths forward from which they must choose: (1) continue as is, (2) convert outstanding tokens into some form of company equity, or (3) liquidate the company and distribute the proceeds to the share- and tokenholders. Because this decision was strategically crucial for the future of modum.io, the board of directors did not want to rush to a conclusion; they preferred to thoroughly review the benefits and pitfalls of each option.
    Type: case study
    Issue: 421-068
    URL: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=59854
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/110614
  • Publication
    Foundational premises and value drivers of blockchain-driven supply chains: the trade finance experience
    (Kogan Page, 2018-12-28)
    Hofmann, Erik
    ;
    Heines, Roger
    ;
    Omran, Yaghoob
    The 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
    URL: https://www.koganpage.com/product/supply-chain-finance-9780749482404?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=2_%2317000%20Solus%203&utm_campaign=2_%2317000%20Solus%203%3A%20Supply%20Chain%20Management#region
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/99744
  • Publication
    Determinants of transparency in supply chains: A frame to assess the influence of digital technologies on transparency
    ( 2020-04-08)
    Röck, Dominik
    ;
    Hofmann, Erik
    ;
    Rogers, Dale S
    While nowadays’ need to enhance transparency in supply chains (TSC) seems undisputable, supply chain management (SCM) scholars and practitioners struggle to identify the determinants to enhance TSC. This contribution aims to address this need by applying a multiple case study design with 24 awarded or industry-wide good practice solutions. The study reveals 29 determinants of TSC which can be used for future studies on TSC. In addition, the study elaborates information processing theory (IPT) against the backdrop of inter-organizational contexts.
    Type: conference paper
    Journal: 29th International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA) Conference proceedings: Procurement Innovation, Knoxville, USA, April 5-8, 2020
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/112233
  • Publication
    Blockchain soll die Supply Chain revolutionieren
    (GS1 Schweiz, 2019-07-03)
    Hofmann, Erik
    Type: newspaper article
    Journal: GS1 network
    Volume: 14
    Issue: 2
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/98449