Blockchain in Supply Chain Management: A Comprehensive Review and Sustainability Analysis

Today's global economy is increasingly interconnected, with supply chains spanning multiple countries and involving numerous stakeholders. As these supply chains became more complex, traditional management methods have evolved to prioritise efficiency, transparency and sustainability. Companies are now focusing on optimising the entire supply chain, rather than just their local processes, and gaining greater visibility into each step of the chain. A key driver of this transformation is technology. Industry 4.0 has revolutionised supply chain management. Initially created for cryptocurrencies, blockchain is now recognised as a game-changer in supply chain management. It provides a decentralised and immutable ledger that increases transparency, traceability and trust between participants. Beyond financial transactions, blockchain can track goods, verify authenticity and ensure ethical practices throughout the supply chain. In parallel, there is a growing emphasis on sustainability. Businesses are aware of their impact on the environment, which has led to adopting economically efficient, environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices. The thesis explores the intersection of these three areas and tries to answer the research question: can blockchain address current supply chain challenges and contribute to more sustainable practices? The results show that the introduction of blockchain technology enables the implementation of new and sustainable practices in supply chain management, for example, ensuring compliance with environmental standards by increasing traceability and transparency in supply chains, providing all information on the type and origin of materials, allowing data to be stored in a secure and immutable manner, preventing fraud through continuous and shared monitoring between actors in the supply chain, or leading to coordination between suppliers to achieve compliance with sustainable standards. However, the technology still faces challenges and barriers to implementation, mainly related to the complexity of the technology itself.