Picking Blockchain Platforms for Supply Chain Management Applications

10 min readMar 28, 2021

Purpose

This article aims to give a high-level overview of popular blockchain platforms that have seen project activity associated with supply chain management. This article categorizes blockchain platforms and gives suggestions for what platform to build on based on the blockchain platforms properties as well as the specific application’s characteristics. This article does not focus on suggesting specific systems that currently exist on the blockchain platforms, and it was written in August 2020.

Introduction

Blockchain systems have existed since Bitcoin launched in 2009. Blockchains are cryptography-backed databases that group transactions into blocks that make up an append-only ledger that all involved participants agree on. Immutability, decentralization, and auditability are typical properties of blockchains, and blockchains can allow for faster, cheaper individual transaction costs as compared to traditional systems. Blockchains generally face issues with network security, scalability, cost, interoperability, and integration with legacy systems. Blockchains became famous for their applications in finance, spearheaded by Bitcoin and Ethereum [1]. Since Hyperledger Fabric launched in late 2015, there has been increasing development of blockchain solutions for enterprise [2].

This article defines supply chain management (SCM) as the management of goods and services from producers to consumers. Suppliers, manufacturers, logistics providers, retailers, and consumers generally make up supply chain systems. The blockchain community has sometimes referred to blockchain-based SCM applications as “low-hanging fruit” for enterprise since blockchain ledgers excel at traceability and tracking of products and transactions [3]. In SCM, blockchains have also seen use for giving transparency, ensuring order fulfillment, and combating counterfeit products. However, not all supply chains require a blockchain, and it is important to evaluate whether the trade-offs associated with using a blockchain system are worthwhile for the specific application [4].

The comparisons in this article are relative to the blockchain platforms selected and not based on comparisons to status quo solutions.

Special thanks to Tan Guerpinar for his support as my research mentor and all of the feedback he gave throughout the writing process.

Selected Blockchain Platforms

The following platforms were selected based on a review of the literature and industry reports, like the industry report done by the European Parliament in 2020 [5]. In addition, the popularity of the platforms and platforms with working solutions were strongly considered when compiling this list. The references used for the comparison table and flow diagram follow each blockchain platform.

Ethereum

Ethereum (ETH) launched in 2015 as a public blockchain using proof of work and is currently shifting towards proof of stake. It makes use of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which serves to hold the state of essentially a decentralized computer. Ethereum is a high cost, general platform with high versatility that popularized the use of smart contracts.

References

1. Sriramya, P., & Dilip, G. (2019). Performance Evaluation of Various Block Chain Platforms. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering Special Issue, 8(3S), 630–636. doi:10.35940/ijrte.c1126.1083s19

2. B. P. Rankhambe and H. Kaur Khanuja, “A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Platforms — Bitcoin and Ethereum,” 2019 5th International Conference On Computing, Communication, Control And Automation (ICCUBEA), Pune, India, 2019, pp. 1–7, doi: 10.1109/ICCUBEA47591.2019.9129332.

3. V. Clincy and H. Shahriar, “Blockchain Development Platform Comparison,” 2019 IEEE 43rd Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Milwaukee, WI, USA, 2019, pp. 922–923, doi: 10.1109/COMPSAC.2019.00142.

4. European Parliamentary Research Service (May 2020). Blockchain for supply chains and international trade.

5. Open Ethereum. (n.d.). OpenEthereum Documentation — Proof-of-Authority Chains. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://openethereum.github.io/wiki/Proof-of-Authority-Chains

6. Singh, N. (2019, November 11). Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/quillhash/ethereum-or-hyperledger-fabric-259f3c9b8da6

7. Telgote, R. (2018, October 20). Smart contract showdown: Hyperledger Fabric vs MultiChain vs Ethereum vs Corda. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2018/12/smart-contract-showdown/

Ethereum-based

Multiple blockchain platforms have used and adapted source code from Ethereum. These systems use the EVM and allow for the use of Blockchains in this category, for SCM, include Quorum and Parity Ethereum among others that may be more obscure for SCM applications. Enterprise activity has been present with organizations like the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance supporting the use of Ethereum-based systems [6].

References

2. S. Benahmed et al., “A Comparative Analysis of Distributed Ledger Technologies for Smart Contract Development,” 2019 IEEE 30th Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), Istanbul, Turkey, 2019, pp. 1–6, doi: 10.1109/PIMRC.2019.8904256.

3. Open Ethereum. (n.d.). OpenEthereum Documentation — Proof-of-Authority Chains. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://openethereum.github.io/wiki/Proof-of-Authority-Chains

4. Singh, N. (2019, November 11). Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/quillhash/ethereum-or-hyperledger-fabric-259f3c9b8da6

5. Sitoh, P. (2020, August 27). What are the differences between Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Sawtooth? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/coinmonks/what-are-the-differences-between-ethereum-hyperledger-fabric-and-hyperledger-sawtooth-5d0fc279d862

Hyperledger Fabric

Launched by IBM in 2015 and now managed by the Linux Foundation, academics have lauded and proposed solutions built on Fabric for enterprise in part due to its use of channels that allow only involved parties to share sensitive data. Fabric is modular and allows for pluggable consensus. Currently, it comes built with the consensus mechanisms Raft and Kafka.

References

1. Copperwire. (2019). Enterprise Blockchain Adoption Report (Rep.).

2. Sriramya, P., & Dilip, G. (2019). Performance Evaluation of Various Block Chain Platforms. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering Special Issue, 8(3S), 630–636. doi:10.35940/ijrte.c1126.1083s19

4. European Parliamentary Research Service (May 2020). Blockchain for supply chains and international trade.

5. Saraf, Chinmay & Sabadra, Siddharth. (2018). Blockchain platforms: A compendium. 1–6. 10.1109/ICIRD.2018.8376323.

6. Mamun, M. (2020, January 29). How does Hyperledger Fabric work? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/coinmonks/how-does-hyperledger-fabric-works-cdb68e6066f5

7. The Ordering Service¶. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-2.0/orderer/ordering_service.html

8. Singh, N. (2019, November 11). Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/quillhash/ethereum-or-hyperledger-fabric-259f3c9b8da6

9. Sitoh, P. (2020, August 27). What are the differences between Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Sawtooth? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/coinmonks/what-are-the-differences-between-ethereum-hyperledger-fabric-and-hyperledger-sawtooth-5d0fc279d862

10. Telgote, R. (2018, October 20). Smart contract showdown: Hyperledger Fabric vs MultiChain vs Ethereum vs Corda. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2018/12/smart-contract-showdown/

11. Anwar, H. (2020, July 28). Hyperledger Sawtooth Vs. Fabric: How Are They Different? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://101blockchains.com/hyperledger-sawtooth-vs-fabric/

12. Waterloo News. (2019, May 03). Waterloo researchers speed up blockchain to meet real-world needs. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://uwaterloo.ca/news/news/waterloo-researchers-speed-blockchain-meet-real-world-needs

Hyperledger Sawtooth

Developed by Intel with the use of Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX), Sawtooth is an enterprise blockchain platform that primarily used proof of elapsed time for its consensus mechanism although the consensus mechanism is pluggable. Now, Sawtooth comes built in with other consensus mechanisms, like BFT. Sawtooth can use Ethereum smart contracts with support from Hyperledger Burrow and allows for both permissioned and permissionless systems.

References

3. European Parliamentary Research Service (May 2020). Blockchain for supply chains and international trade.

4. Saraf, Chinmay & Sabadra, Siddharth. (2018). Blockchain platforms: A compendium. 1–6. 10.1109/ICIRD.2018.8376323.

6. Gr, S. (2018, July 12). Hyperledger Sawtooth — The introduction. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/@grsind19/hyperledger-sawtooth-the-introduction-627195490b7b

7. Anwar, H. (2020, July 28). Hyperledger Sawtooth Vs. Fabric: How Are They Different? Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://101blockchains.com/hyperledger-sawtooth-vs-fabric/

MultiChain

MultiChain allows for the deployment of private blockchains, and companies have generally used MultiChain for enterprise applications. MultiChain uses round robin consensus with the parameter mining diversity that allows the degree of decentralization to be set. MultiChain is said to be quick and easy to setup for use right out of the box.

References

1. M. T. Oliveira et al., “Towards a Performance Evaluation of Private Blockchain Frameworks using a Realistic Workload,” 2019 22nd Conference on Innovation in Clouds, Internet and Networks and Workshops (ICIN), Paris, France, 2019, pp. 180–187, doi: 10.1109/ICIN.2019.8685888.

2. Telgote, R. (2018, October 20). MultiChain Introduction — Part 1. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/@rahultelgote1989/multichain-introduction-part-1-c489387a60f1

3. Greenspan, G. (2017, July). MultiChain Private Blockchain — White Paper. Coin Sciences Ltd. https://www.multichain.com/download/MultiChain-White-Paper.pdf

4. Telgote, R. (2018, October 20). Smart contract showdown: Hyperledger Fabric vs MultiChain vs Ethereum vs Corda. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2018/12/smart-contract-showdown/

5. Greenspan, G. (2017, June 15). MultiChain 1.0 beta 2 and 2.0 roadmap. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2017/06/multichain-1-beta-2-roadmap/

VeChain Thor

VeChain Thor consists of an IoT layer, designed for use with supply chains, with a separate smart contract layer. VeChain has its own chips that increase IoT security for SCM. VeChain specializes at preventing counterfeiting with their tags and products being inseparable, and the sensor data is stored on a centralized database with the data’s hash put on the blockchain. It operates with proof of authority and allows for permissionless reading and writing.

References

1. V. Clincy and H. Shahriar, “Blockchain Development Platform Comparison,” 2019 IEEE 43rd Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Milwaukee, WI, USA, 2019, pp. 922–923, doi: 10.1109/COMPSAC.2019.00142.

2. The Analyst Team. (2020, June 24). What is VeChain? Introduction To VET (THOR). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://cryptobriefing.com/what-is-vechain-introduction-to-vet-thor/

3. Vechain Foundation. (2018, February 20). VeChain Technical AMA — Hardware Questions Part 1. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/@vechainofficial/vechain-technical-ama-hardware-questions-part-1-ce7a5f19c3e1

4. Abamonga, M. (2018, May 07). What is VeChain Thor? Beginner’s Guide. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.marketlinks.org/post/what-vechain-thor-beginners-guide

R3 Corda

Although not a blockchain, R3 Corda is a distributed ledger technology that has seen use in enterprise due to its applications in enterprise finance. Supply chains use R3 Corda for its applications in supply chain finance. Due to its lack of tokenization, companies sometimes pair R3 Corda with other blockchains, like Ethereum, to allow for product tracking and traceability. R3 Corda stands out because due to its design that focuses on legal enforceability and confidentiality.

References

2. V. Clincy and H. Shahriar, “Blockchain Development Platform Comparison,” 2019 IEEE 43rd Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Milwaukee, WI, USA, 2019, pp. 922–923, doi: 10.1109/COMPSAC.2019.00142.

3. European Parliamentary Research Service (May 2020). Blockchain for supply chains and international trade.

4. Saraf, Chinmay & Sabadra, Siddharth. (2018). Blockchain platforms: A compendium. 1–6. 10.1109/ICIRD.2018.8376323.

5. Sandner, P. (2020, May 22). Comparison of Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Corda. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://medium.com/@philippsandner/comparison-of-ethereum-hyperledger-fabric-and-corda-21c1bb9442f6

6. Telgote, R. (2018, October 20). Smart contract showdown: Hyperledger Fabric vs MultiChain vs Ethereum vs Corda. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2018/12/smart-contract-showdown/

7. Greenspan, G. (2018, May 8). R3 Corda: Deep dive and technical review. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2018/05/r3-corda-deep-dive-and-technical-review/

Blockchain Comparisons

Table 1 and figure 1 give information about the selected blockchain platforms. Examining the table and using the flow diagram may help narrow down what blockchain platform works well with the chosen SCM application.

Table 1. Blockchain platform characteristics.

Figure 1. Flow diagram for selecting a blockchain platform for SCM.

Example Blockchain SCM Systems from Selected Platforms

As the enterprise blockchain industry matures, projects are beginning to go live. Here are example projects from the selected platforms.

Ethereum: ShipChain for the transportation industry that is used to track where products are [7].

Ethereum-based: Mediledger that uses an enterprise version of Ethereum with a modified Parity client that has PoA [8].

Hyperledger Fabric: FoodTrust from IBM that is used for food track and trace [9]. TradeLens from Maersk used to collect and track shipping data [10].

Hyperledger Sawtooth: Scantrust that helps customers track their supply chains [11].

MultiChain: SAP for Pharmaceuticals built on MultiChain helps with drug returns management [12].

VeChain: My Story built on VeChain and developed by DVNGL has tracked Italian wines [13].

R3 Corda: Origins built by Tradewinds on R3 Corda for the provenance and ownership of precious metals [14].

Limitations

Blockchain is an emerging technology with a variety of projects and applications, and there is scarce academic literature for many of the platforms described in this article. Due to this, this article made use of grey literature and some of the references may have outdated information.

References

[1] B. P. Rankhambe and H. Kaur Khanuja, “A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Platforms — Bitcoin and Ethereum,” 2019 5th International Conference On Computing, Communication, Control And Automation (ICCUBEA), Pune, India, 2019, pp. 1–7, doi: 10.1109/ICCUBEA47591.2019.9129332.

[2] Linux Foundation Unites Industry Leaders to Advance Blockchain Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20170717193806/https://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/announcements/2015/12/linux-foundation-unites-industry-leaders-advance-blockchain

[3] Blockdata. (2019, July 16). Top 15 Supply Chain Blockchain Projects. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://medium.com/blockdata/top-15-supply-chain-blockchain-projects-5f06e4c0c78e

[4] Greenspan, G. (2017, July 26). Do you really need a blockchain for that? Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://www.coincenter.org/education/crypto-regulation-faq/do-you-really-need-a-blockchain-for-that/

[5] European Parliamentary Research Service (May 2020). Blockchain for supply chains and international trade.

[6] Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. (2020, August 18). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://entethalliance.org/

[7] ShipChain. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://shipchain.io/

[8] Lucsok, P. (2020, January 14). Why Chronicled chose to build on Parity’s tech stack. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.parity.io/chronicled-mediledger-parity/

[9] IBM Food Trust — Blockchain for the world’s food supply. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/solutions/food-trust

[10] Digitizing Global Supply Chains. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.tradelens.com/

[11] ScanTrust Case Study. (2019, May 06). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.hyperledger.org/learn/publications/scantrust-case-study

[12] SAP Pharma Case Study and Interview. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.multichain.com/blog/2019/10/sap-pharma-case-study-interview/

[13] Lawal, K. (2019, January 11). 3 Top Wine Makers Officially Adopt Vechain (VET)-DNVGL Blockchain Solution, My Story. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://newslogical.com/3-top-wine-makers-officially-adopt-vechain-vet-dnvgl-blockchain-solution-my-story/

[14] ORIGINS. (2020, August 12). Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://tradewindmarkets.com/platform/origins/

Picking Blockchain Platforms for Supply Chain Management Applications

Written by Gilberto Guadiana

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