INDUSTRY 4.0 TRANSFORMATION: PRIORITIZING CHALLENGES TO BLOCKCHAIN ADOPTION IN SUPPLY CHAIN USING BEST-WORST METHOD

Abstract

The advent of Industry 4.0 has resulted in the evolution of technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT) and smart warehouses that operate via digital methods. The supply chain of any firm comprises a number of parties, including suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, and end users. Due to increased global competition, there is a greater need than ever for businesses to use these technologies to obtain a competitive edge. Furthermore, a company's supply chain can be greatly impacted by the implementation of blockchain technology (BCT), which decentralises, tracks, and monitors the delivery of goods to ultimate customers, hence speeding up procedures. The objective of this study is to pinpoint the primary barriers, particularly within the Indian context, that must be addressed in order to effectively integrate Blockchain Technology in a supply chain. After conducting an extensive examination of existing literature and seeking advice from specialists, this study identified 20 barriers that impede the mainstream use of blockchain technology in supply chain. The BWM method was used to rank those barriers. A total of five analyses were done: Four Sub-criteria analyses and one for the main-criteria and global weights of the barriers were calculated to rank them. Then AHP was used to validate and compare the results which were found by BWM. The results revealed that the most important barriers are the Unfamiliarity with Blockchain Technology, Incompatibility (between various blockchains, current technology, and legacy systems), Lack of Blockchain standardization and insufficiently skilled blockchain developers. This study emphasises the necessity for companies to completely consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of implementing blockchain technology from an industrial standpoint. It also emphasises how critical it is to remove the obstacles to adoption in order to guarantee an effective deployment. Businesses can increase their competitiveness overall and improve supply chain management by doing this.