Blockchain technology. Future for supply chains?

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2017 in the subject Engineering - Computer Engineering, , language: English, abstract: This paper is about a new supply chain model that has been developed using some Blockchain features. The model represents a cooperative platform structure including financing and promising a significant cost saving potential. The first section covers a description of the blockchain technology addressing readers not deeply familiar with the necessary blockchain terminology and details for understanding the potential impact on business applications and Logistics / Supply Chains. In the recent past first blockchain applications concentrated on the financial sector, resulting in disruptive business models challenging primarily banks and other legacy systems depending on trusted intermediaries like insurances or notaries. The spectrum of blockchain attributes enables this technology being applied in other business sectors, like Healthcare, Energy, Telco, Real Estate and Retail. Now, the logistics / supply chain area enjoys rather high attention. The report summarizes actual initiatives and pilot applications. Finally, the report proposes an innovative supply chain structure based on blockchain technology for discussion.