Leveraging Blockchain Technology for Secure and Transparent Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Global supply chains face mounting challenges from counterfeiting, opacity, regulatory non-compliance, and inefficient
paper-based processes that collectively cost industries over $16 billion annually. This paper presents SCBChain, a novel
blockchain-based supply chain management framework that integrates IoT sensor data, smart contract automation, and
machine learning-driven anomaly detection to provide end-to-end product traceability, tamper-proof provenance records,
and automated compliance verification. SCBChain employs a permissioned blockchain architecture built on an optimized
Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocol that achieves 8,200 transactions per second—a 134% improvement
over standard Hyperledger Fabric—while maintaining sub-second transaction finality. The framework incorporates a novel
hybrid on-chain/off-chain storage strategy using IPFS for bulk data, reducing on-chain storage costs by 87.3% without
sacrificing data integrity. We evaluate SCBChain through a 12-month pilot deployment across a pharmaceutical supply chain
involving 47 organizations, 380 IoT-enabled checkpoints, and over 2.6 million tracked product units. Results demonstrate a
98% counterfeit detection rate, 88.3% reduction in verification latency, 72% reduction in document processing costs, and
82% reduction in inventory discrepancies. A comprehensive usability assessment with supply chain stakeholders confirms
operational viability, with 89% of participants rating the system as superior to existing solutions.