Abstract
1- Introduction
2- Related work
3- Methodology and case study
4- Discussion and future work
References
Abstract
Current supply chain is a linear economy model that directly or indirectly fulfills supply needs. But this model has some disadvantages, such as the relationships between the members of the supply chain or the lack of information for the consumer about the origin of the products. In this paper we propose a new model of supply chain via blockchain. This new model enables the concept of circular economy and eliminates many of the disadvantages of the current supply chain. In order to coordinate all the transactions that take place in the supply chain a multi-agent system is created for this paper.
Introduction
Blockchain is currently gaining the interest of a wide variety of industries: from finance [1][2], health-care [5], other sectors [37], utilities and the government sector. The reason for this growing interest: With a blockchain, applications that worked only through a trusted intermediary. Now they can operate in a decentralized way, without the need for a verification system and achieve the same functionality with the same amount of reliability. This was not possible until the blockchain was created. With the implementation of blockchain trustless networks appeared. This is possible because in networks that use blockchain you can make transfers with no need to trust other users [8]. With the lack of intermediaries, transactions become faster between users. In addition, the use of cryptography in the blockchain ensures that the information is secure[20]. Blockchain is a large accounting ledger that records all transactions made by users. This makes researchers and developers on the Internet of Things (IoT) look for ways to link IoT with blockchain[23][29]. Nowadays supply chain is a core area for companies which is concerned with transporting products between parties. However, the problem of this sector is that its scale may lead to delays and defaults in the delivery of goods as well as other issues. In addition, large distributors need a large volume of workers to meet all the demands of stores. All this may contribute to big delays in order processing and increases the possibility of losing orders [20]. In an attempt to solve this problem, companies have automated all their processes, contributing to a significant increase in the number of businesses and distributors in the supply chain. However, an increase in the amount of digitized data and the expansion of Internet companies means that the risk of attacks on their databases is also greater. Hackers may intend to modify, steal or delete data[7][36].