RESILIENT NETWORKS: LEVERAGING BLOCKCHAIN AND IOT FOR POST-CRISIS SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters in the world have underscored weaknesses in the original supply chains, such as lack of transparency and slowness in information flow and inefficiencies in tracking goods. To guarantee resilience in the supply chain, technologies that will increase visibility, traceability, and real-time decision-making should be adopted. A promising framework to resolve these challenges is provided by blockchain technology with its impossible to alter and decentralized registry, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are able to gather data in real-time. This paper explores how blockchain and IoT can be merged in order to improve the supply chain transparency and resilience in the wake of a crisis. It discusses the potential use of smart contracts, decentralized records, and IoT enabled sensing devices to work together to enhance traceability, decrease fraud, and promote proactive decision-making. The research measures the performance measures in terms of transaction speed, data integrity, transparency scores as well as the operational efficiency using case studies and simulation models. The findings have shown that blockchain-IoT integrated networks can greatly enhance the resilience of a supply chain so that interested parties can be more responsive to failures. The results in this study highlight the need to embrace decentralized and technology-based systems to have effective supply chain management, which is transparent.