Background: Several product lifecycle management systems (PLMs) have been implemented in the industrial sector for managing the data of the product from the design up to the disposal or recycling stage. However, these PLMs face certain challenges in managing the complex and decentralized product...

Background: In relevant research, blockchain technology (BCT) is credited with great potential for supply chain management (SCM). However, even after more than 10 years of the technology's existence, it is barely used for any self-sustaining applications. This raises the question of why BC...

The most successful applications of Blockchain Technology are still in the area of crypto-currencies, although both scientists and practitioners have discovered the potential of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management. There is a significant theoretical literature on Blockchain...

Purpose: Smart contracts are transaction programs with an 'if-then logic' in relation to the blockchain technology and offer new possibilities for production control. Smart orders are derived from production orders and they are based on smart contracts. Therefore, they are created with the...

Purpose: Due to the large number of intermediaries in logistics networks there is avariety of possible failures, frictions and waste of time and money among the logisticsprocess chain. With the ability to provide data securely in near real-time, liketrack and tracing data of goods to every...