| Pub. Date | : March 21 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJSCM20321 |
| Author Name | : Shivam Swarup and Gyaneshwar Singh Kushwaha |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Strategic |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 21 |
Food processing is one of the highest contributing sectors in terms of domestic and international economic output. Hence, it is imperative to have an efficient food ecosystem where each stakeholder is kept accountable to maintain the authenticity and quality of the food products. To maintain this, there is an urgent need for traceability mechanisms providing transparency and efficiency to the overall ecosystem ultimately benefitting the stakeholders. With the recent technological trends such as Blockchain and IoT, traceability-based applications could be developed and implemented in real-time to realize the full potential of an efficient food supply chain. There have been quite a few studies in the development of a sustained food traceability application. However, there are weaknesses in the implementation of technological trends such as Blockchain on a large-scale Food Supply Chain (FSC). In this paper, attempts have been made to review those studies, ultimately leading to a broader understanding of the current status of research in technology-based FSC traceability and also identifying the future course of action to enhance its applicability.
Traceability provides ways to identify supply chain inefficiencies to improve transparency and enhance its overall performance. According to Pels and Engelseth (2009), it helps in the delivery of perishable food products to the end customer and also maintaining the desired quality by allowing various stakeholders to stay connected. Aung and Chang (2014) suggest that traceability would enable early detection of spoilage and help in maintaining continuity in a supply chain. This would further help in minimizing foodborne diseases and give a boost to sustainable agriculture. Finally, Sarpong (2014) suggests that it would also help in reducing risks associated with maintaining complex paperwork due to huge data generation. Traceability in any supply chain could be implemented through the use of recent technological trends such as Blockchain and IoT based Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) systems. In a typical supply chain, as mentioned in Figure 1 each transaction could be recorded at different stages through RFID chips or a barcode scanner to a portal which would keep track of the whereabouts of that