In November 2008, for the first time, Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin protocol, which was based on blockchain technology. Since that time, the use and spread of crypto-currency, as well as the technology on which it is based, have not stopped growing. Today, 10 years after that publication, the world of research has shifted from the study of blockchain aimed purely at the financial world, to a concrete search for other possible usage areas of the technology. The supply chain management world, among these, is one of the most applicable contexts. From an analysis of the state of the art carried out through the study of academic literature, it emerged how overall there is no clear and unambiguous idea of what the benefits and limits of technology are and, above all, how it is unclear the value added, compared to other traditional technologies, that blockchain would lead to a company that decided to invest in it. Just as, if it is true that the application of blockchain to the world of supply chains is being widely studied, it is equally true that from the literature it emerges that not all the phases of supply chain management are actually involved. This study therefore, through interviews with blockchain experts, aims on the one hand to clarify the added value of blockchain with respect to traditional technologies, unambiguously identifying its benefits and limits, on the other it aims to verify whether the lack of studies on the blockchain application to some phases of supply chain management are due to the excessive novelty and immaturity of the technology or to an actual incongruity of it. Finally, once it emerged that the lack of technology application in some processes is due to the lack of maturity of the technology itself, thus not precluding possible future studies, the final step has been to propose a new business model, applied to the fashion industry and in particular to the Nike company, in which the blockchain technology has been a support tool also for a supply chain management phase so far neglected: the product return phase. With the proposed business model the value of blockchain technology will be demonstrated, not only as a useful business tool, but also as an effective mean that empower circular economy processes among companies.
Nel novembre 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto rese pubblico per la prima volta il protocollo Bitcoin, il cui funzionamento era basato sulla tecnologia blockchain. Da quel momento, l’utilizzo e la diffusione della cripto-valuta, nonché della tecnologia su cui si fonda, non hanno più smesso di crescere. Oggi, trascorsi 10 anni dalla pubblicazione, il mondo della ricerca si è spostato dallo studio di blockchain finalizzato prettamente al mondo finanziario, ad una ricerca concreta di altri possibili ambiti di utilizzo della tecnologia. Il mondo del supply chain management, tra questi, risulta essere uno dei contesti di maggior applicabilità. Da un’analisi dello stato dell’arte effettuata attraverso lo studio della letteratura accademica, è emerso come complessivamente non vi sia un’idea chiara e univoca su quali siano i benefici ed i limiti della tecnologia e soprattutto come non sia chiaro il valore aggiunto, rispetto ad altre tecnologie tradizionali, che blockchain porterebbe ad un’azienda che decidesse di investirci. Così come, se è vero che si sta ampiamente studiando l’applicazione di blockchain al mondo delle supply chain, è altrettanto vero che dalla letteratura emerge come non tutte le fasi del supply chain management vengano effettivamente coinvolte. Tale studio, pertanto, attraverso interviste ad esperti di blockchain, mira da un lato a chiarificare il valore aggiunto di blockchain rispetto alle tecnologie tradizionali, identificandone univocamente benefici e limiti, dall’altro mira a verificare se i mancati studi sull’applicazione di blockchain a talune fasi del supply chain management siano dovuti all’eccessiva novità e immaturità della tecnologia, oppure ad un effettiva incongruenza di essa. Infine, una volta emerso come la mancata applicazione della tecnologia in alcuni processi sia dovuta di fatto alla mancanza di maturità della tecnologia stessa, non precludendo dunque possibili studi futuri, il passaggio finale è stato quello di proporre un nuovo modello di business, applicato all’industria della moda ed in particolare all’azienda Nike, in cui la tecnologia blockchain fosse strumento di supporto anche per una fase del supply chain management finora trascurata, la fase di restituzione dei prodotti. Con il business model verrà dimostrato il valore della tecnologia blockchain, non solo come utile strumento aziendale, ma anche come efficace mezzo per abilitare i processi di economia circolare tra le imprese.
Blockchain for supply chain management : state of the art and a business model proposal for circular economy
BRAMBILLA, MARCO;COSTA, BIAGIO
2017/2018
Abstract
In November 2008, for the first time, Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin protocol, which was based on blockchain technology. Since that time, the use and spread of crypto-currency, as well as the technology on which it is based, have not stopped growing. Today, 10 years after that publication, the world of research has shifted from the study of blockchain aimed purely at the financial world, to a concrete search for other possible usage areas of the technology. The supply chain management world, among these, is one of the most applicable contexts. From an analysis of the state of the art carried out through the study of academic literature, it emerged how overall there is no clear and unambiguous idea of what the benefits and limits of technology are and, above all, how it is unclear the value added, compared to other traditional technologies, that blockchain would lead to a company that decided to invest in it. Just as, if it is true that the application of blockchain to the world of supply chains is being widely studied, it is equally true that from the literature it emerges that not all the phases of supply chain management are actually involved. This study therefore, through interviews with blockchain experts, aims on the one hand to clarify the added value of blockchain with respect to traditional technologies, unambiguously identifying its benefits and limits, on the other it aims to verify whether the lack of studies on the blockchain application to some phases of supply chain management are due to the excessive novelty and immaturity of the technology or to an actual incongruity of it. Finally, once it emerged that the lack of technology application in some processes is due to the lack of maturity of the technology itself, thus not precluding possible future studies, the final step has been to propose a new business model, applied to the fashion industry and in particular to the Nike company, in which the blockchain technology has been a support tool also for a supply chain management phase so far neglected: the product return phase. With the proposed business model the value of blockchain technology will be demonstrated, not only as a useful business tool, but also as an effective mean that empower circular economy processes among companies.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/145830