Abstract
Global supply chains are increasingly exposed to disruptions resulting from pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change, reinforcing the need for resilient and transparent digital supply chain solutions. The article explores the role of blockchain technology in supply chain management (SCM) systems engineering, focusing on its potential to enhance transparency and traceability in SCM. A two-stage qualitative research design was used, involving structured in-depth interviews with SCM and blockchain experts from several countries. The results show that while blockchain is perceived as having moderate and increasing relevance for addressing two key digital supply chain (DSC) challenges, it is not yet a primary design choice in SCM systems engineering due to limited maturity, integration complexity, and lack of dedicated solutions. The study highlights a strong need for engineered, interoperable blockchain-based architectures to support traceability of products and components, as well as transparency in DSC, especially in mature SCM systems. Microsoft Blockchain and VeChain sub-technologies and solutions are recognized by experts as having the highest potential for this. Moreover, there exists a strong mutual interpenetration of tracing and transparency aspects in SCM systems, where their separation is undesirable and uncommon.
Paper Type
Short Paper
DOI
10.62036/ISD.2026.192
Evaluating blockchain technology adoption opportunities for enhanced traceability and transparency in supply chain management systems engineering
Global supply chains are increasingly exposed to disruptions resulting from pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change, reinforcing the need for resilient and transparent digital supply chain solutions. The article explores the role of blockchain technology in supply chain management (SCM) systems engineering, focusing on its potential to enhance transparency and traceability in SCM. A two-stage qualitative research design was used, involving structured in-depth interviews with SCM and blockchain experts from several countries. The results show that while blockchain is perceived as having moderate and increasing relevance for addressing two key digital supply chain (DSC) challenges, it is not yet a primary design choice in SCM systems engineering due to limited maturity, integration complexity, and lack of dedicated solutions. The study highlights a strong need for engineered, interoperable blockchain-based architectures to support traceability of products and components, as well as transparency in DSC, especially in mature SCM systems. Microsoft Blockchain and VeChain sub-technologies and solutions are recognized by experts as having the highest potential for this. Moreover, there exists a strong mutual interpenetration of tracing and transparency aspects in SCM systems, where their separation is undesirable and uncommon.
Recommended Citation
Nazet, F. & Kuciapski, M.(2026). Evaluating blockchain technology adoption opportunities for enhanced traceability and transparency in supply chain management systems engineering. In M. Valenta, B. Mannová, R. Pergl, A. Przybylek, M. Lang, H. Linger, C. Schneider, N. Iivari, & E. Insfran (Eds.), Making ISD Sustainable: Reloaded with AI and Automation (ISD2026 Proceedings). Prague, Czech Republic: Czech Technical University in Prague. ISBN: 978-80-01-07585-2. https://doi.org/10.62036/ISD.2026.192