Development of a Blockchain-Based System for Supply Chain Traceability

Thesis Abstract

The increasing complexity and global nature of supply chains have heightened the need for transparent, secure, and immutable systems for tracking product movement and provenance, underscoring the limitations of traditional centralized databases susceptible to fraud, data tampering, and lack of real-time visibility. This study aims to develop a blockchain-based supply chain traceability system that enhances transparency, security, and stakeholder trust across diverse logistical networks. Specific objectives include designing a blockchain architecture tailored for supply chain operations, evaluating its effectiveness in ensuring data integrity, and assessing stakeholder perceptions and usability of the system. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, the study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide comprehensive insights. The quantitative component involves deploying a prototype blockchain system within a simulated supply chain environment comprising fifty participants drawn from logistics companies, quality assurance agencies, and regulatory bodies, selected via stratified random sampling. Data collection instruments encompass system usability questionnaires, security assessment checklists, and transaction throughput logs, ensuring triangulation of findings. The qualitative aspect employs semi-structured interviews with twenty stakeholders to explore perceptions of system trustworthiness, usability, and integration challenges, analyzed through thematic analysis. Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and regression analysis to evaluate system performance, data integrity metrics, and user satisfaction. Thematic analysis will be performed on interview transcripts to identify recurrent themes related to system acceptance and perceived benefits. Expected findings are anticipated to demonstrate that the blockchain implementation significantly improves data transparency, reduces incidences of data fraud, and enhances supply chain accountability. The system is expected to record over 95% successful transaction validation rates, with high user satisfaction scores (above 4 on a 5-point Likert scale), and exhibit a capacity to prevent fraudulent modifications of supply chain data. Stakeholder feedback is likely to reveal increased trust and willingness to adopt blockchain solutions, despite concerns relating to initial implementation costs and technical complexity. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence of blockchain technology’s practical viability in supply chain traceability, addressing gaps pertaining to scalability, stakeholder acceptance, and system integration challenges. It extends the theoretical framework grounded in the Distributed Ledger Theory and Trust Propagation Model, illustrating how blockchain’s decentralization and immutable ledger foster trust among heterogeneous supply chain actors. Additionally, the study proposes a conceptual model illustrating the relationships among system design features, data security, stakeholder trust, and operational outcomes. Drawing from the findings, the main conclusion underscores blockchain's potential as a transformative tool for supply chain management, particularly in enhancing data integrity and stakeholder confidence. The study recommends further large-scale pilot implementations across various industries, investigation into cost-benefit trade-offs, and development of user-friendly interfaces to facilitate broader adoption. Future research could explore integration with emerging technologies such as IoT and AI to enable real-time automatic tracing and predictive analytics, thereby advancing the robustness and scalability of blockchain-based supply chain solutions.