INTRODUCTION

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Modern-day traceability throughout the supply chain has been a pivotal area of focus and concern for businesses across the globe. However, practicing supply chain traceability with traditional means has often led to inefficiency, distortion, and opacity. These issues posed great costs in terms of profits, Brand equity, and sustainability in a business. The introduction of tracking goods through the use of blockchain was game changing as it transformed tracing of supply chain to a new age where proof tracing was the key feature to aim for.

Blockchain Supply Chain tracking solutions incorporates well thought out process of documenting each transactions and each movement of the goods transferred with such unique block chains that it becomes practically impossible for any of the parties in supply chain to temper or forge it, thus, achieving a tall order of feat. As the technology has matured, it has been adopted across various industries, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and electronics, where ensuring the authenticity and origin of products is paramount. Other than academia, real estate, tokenization, and , hyper ledger are slowly but increasingly become to gain momentum.

This paper seeks to analyze how the adaptation of blockchain technology has come about in terms of enabling better supply chain management and demonstrating transparency through smart contracts, connection to IoT devices, and the development of cross-network interoperability. Each of these stages shows in what way, as already mentioned, the development of blockchain technology has affected the organization of supply chains and the confidence of the parties involved.

• TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL TRACKING METHODS TO BLOCKCHAIN

Supply chain technology can be said to go through three distinct stages of evolution, with the first stage being the automatic and decentralized tracking of goods using blockchain technology. The primary mechanisms of tracking used to be paper records and databases which were subject to human errors, or alteration. Such systems were opaque making it easy to misappropriate goods or engage in fraudulent activities since the origin of the goods was hard to verify.

But the issue of fraud in the supply chain was effectively addressed by blockchain technology as it provided decentralized and incorruptible databases. All transactions or movements of goods would now be recorded on a network and replicated across everyone’s database guaranteeing the integrity of the data. Unlike In the past times when information could be edited and even deleted, there is now an immutable record capable of being accessed by all people involved in the supply chain. There was a digitizing nature to this change, especially for food and pharmaceutical industries where traceability and tracking of a good is the norm rather than an exception.

The success of IBM and Walmart in the recent past to trace products on blockchain technology within seconds rather than days is the most ideal proof that this technology can be harnessed at scale. This advancement not only streamlined business operations, but it also increased end-user trust as they were provided with the capability to validate data concerning the origin of goods.

• ROLE OF SMART CONTRACTS IN AUTOMATING TRACEABILITY

The field of blockchain-based supply chain solutions was revolutionized by the inception of Smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts which reduce the number of steps needed in a process that requires the fulfillment a certain condition. Applying this to Supply chains, it enables key events such as the delivery of goods or the payment of funds to be released automatically after all the conditions for the event have been met.

With the emergence of smart contracts, businesses were able to enhance blockchain platforms as the contracts allow for traceability procedures to be completed with ease. For instance, when a supplier dispatched the goods, a smart contract can record the details of the shipment on the blockchain ledger. The contract enabled the Buyer to make payment to the supplier upon receiving the goods in accordance with the contract terms. Hence, it allowed both the parties to stick to the contractual terms without the need of middlemen. This mechanization eliminates bottlenecks, conflict and builds confidence among the interested parties.

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Most importantly, Smart contracts assist with compliance with relevant regulations and standards. Such industries as aerospace or food safety, which have a rigid need, will do good using a smart contract to check that the goods comply with set conditions. This lowers the chances of being non-compliant, as well as having an accurate record of events that can be easily checked by regulators or other independent bodies.

• INTEGRATION OF IOT DEVICES FOR REAL-TIME DATA COLLECTION

While many aspects of disruptive technologies are notable, the convergence of the Internet of Things devices with that of blockchain technology whist tackling the issue of supply chain traceability was another patent and is also significant in the evolutionary timeline of supply chain traceability. Better still IoT devices such as sensors and RFID tags assist to collect real-time information regarding several parameters such as the temperature, humidity, location and even the status of the goods. This information is then recorded in a decentralized ledger, which ensures that there is no manipulation of information or data along the supply chain.

For sectors such as the pharmacy and food industry, which are particularly vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions, IoT devices prove to be a great advantage. Sensors can keep watch on the temperature of goods that are prone to rotting while they are being transported, and if they go out of range, the acceptable range limit is reached; the sensors update the net work automatically. This means that stakeholders would be politically spoken all the time so that, when the necessity arises, they could respond quickly to avoid any problems before products were placed on the market for consumers to use.

An additional value is added in that sense also because products will be simple to trace from the suppliers all the way to the consumers through the combination of IoT network and blockchain technology, any change in location or condition of an item can be checked and recorded and this includes all space between the source of the item to the consumer. To achieve this level of complexity is not purely an internal operation matter, it extends a great deal in enhancing the trust that consumers have in the product and also aids in operational enhancement by integrating and bringing together consumers with goods on blockchain based networks.

• ADVANCEMENTS IN INTEROPERABILITY AND INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

As blockchain-based supply chain solutions progressed, several other factors including industry collaborations and interoperability improvements also became very important for the realization of their full potential. In the beginning, quite a number of organizations set up bespoke applications of the blockchain protocol which were unable to interact with other blockchain systems. This kind of decentralized system did not allow to fully utilize the technology as parties in different supply chains could not exchange information easily.

To respond to this problem, there were attempts to design blockchain networks that could work seamlessly with multiple platform applications. Efforts such as Hyperledger project and collaboration of some of the technology vendors helped in designing interoperable standards. Such developments enabled companies to integrate their supply chain systems which increased visibility and effectiveness throughout the sectors.

The cooperation between the relevant players in the ecosystem has also proved useful in promoting the use of blockchain for traceability purposes. For instance, the IBM Food Trust network brought together various stakeholders in the food value chain, namely, the producers, distributors, and retailers on one platform to enhance product traceability. These collaborative attempts help to decrease the costs associated with implementation and ensure that the blockchain solutions are suitable for the requirements of each industry.

CONCLUSION

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The history of the blockchain-based supply chain traceability solutions has changed the way companies take care of their business processes. The use of tracking techniques like the use of smart contracts and the use of Internet of things devices all entirely changed the business landscape. Cross-industry collaboration and enhanced interoperability have also made it an essential platform in creating confidence and integrity in international supply chains. As the technology progresses, its application is expected to solve new problems that would emerge and reset the benchmark for traceability in the modern economy.

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