Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 4037: A Study on the Transparent Price Tracing System in Supply Chain Management Based on Blockchain (Sustainability)

Over the past few years, the importance of improving the product distribution structure has increased worldwide. Therefore, distribution prices are now disclosed and product information is shared with consumers. However, distribution channels are complex and supply chain management (SCM) is autonomously executed in each company. For this reason, it has been frequently pointed out that the distribution process is not transparent and the distribution margin is high. In this paper, we propose a system that guarantees the transparency of the product distribution structure by applying blockchain and smart contracts to the price-tracking portion of supply chain management systems. This approach allows companies to track their trades by enhancing transparency in the SCM, thereby discouraging companies from pursuing excessive profits. In addition, companies can cut management costs by automatically storing distribution details in a blockchain network and managing information more securely.