Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Blockchain Interoperability: Connecting Supply Chains Towards Mass Adoption

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Design in Maritime Engineering

Part of the book series: Advanced Structured Materials ((STRUCTMAT,volume 167))

Abstract

The rapid development of blockchain technology has gained traction among institutions due to the potential benefits it may have in supply chain management. Many countries and institutions are participating in pilot projects and live projects in hopes that it may one day enhance global supply chains with regards to security, speed, disintermediation, traceability, and cost reduction. As the technology continues to develop, more projects have developed their own blockchain networks with their own network design, governance structure, consensus mechanisms, and protocols, in attempting to address specific issues that are prevalent in existing supply chains. However, the development process is mostly vertical as they work to improve their own blockchain network capabilities. These blockchain silos are unable to communicate with other blockchain networks, which presents a significant problem in the effort towards supply chain mass adoption of blockchain technology. The capability to communicate between blockchain networks is known as blockchain interoperability. Current supply chains have been working towards supply chain integration and collaboration. Supply chain adoption will be highly unlikely if the blockchain interoperability issue is not resolved. This paper will discuss the importance of blockchain interoperability within global supply chains, while identifying the possible use cases of the technology if interoperability solutions are not yet available.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. BBC (2021) Bitcoin: El Salvador makes cryptocurrency legal tender. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57398274. Accessed 1 July 2021

  2. Kharpal A (2021) Cryptocurrency market value tops $2 trillion for the first time as Ethereum hits record high. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/cryptocurrency-market-cap-tops-2-trillion-for-the-first-time.html. Accessed 1 July 2021

  3. Marr B (2021) The six biggest blockchain trends that everyone should know about in 2021. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2021/03/12/the-six-biggest-blockchain-trends-everyone-should-know-about-in-2021/?sh=2869294d6631. Accessed 1 July 2021

  4. Euromoney Learning (2021) What is blockchain? Euromoney Learning. https://www.euromoney.com/learning/blockchain-explained/what-is-blockchain. Accessed 1 July 2021

  5. Feldman S (2021) What’s blocking blockchain? Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/17948/worlwide-barriers-to-blockchain-adoption/. Accessed 1 July 2021

  6. Sheets R (2021) Interoperability: a big unanswered question in blockchain. University of Arkansas. https://walton.uark.edu/insights/blockchain-interoperability.php. Accessed 1 July 2021

  7. Williams N (2021) The false hope of blockchain interoperability. Minespider. https://medium.com/minespider/the-false-hope-of-blockchain-interoperability-258da2af62b. Accessed 2 July 2021

  8. Iredale G (2020) 6 key blockchain features you need to know now. 101 Blockchains. https://101blockchains.com/introduction-to-blockchain-features/. Accessed 2 July 2021

  9. Deloitte (2017) Key characteristics of the blockchain. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/in/Documents/industries/in-convergence-blockchain-key-characteristics-noexp.pdf. Accessed 2 July 2021

  10. Pattison I (2017) 4 characteristics that set blockchain apart. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/blogs/cloud-computing/2017/04/11/characteristics-blockchain/. Accessed 2 July 2021

  11. Weisbrodt J, Gross J (2020) CBDS pioneers: which countries are currently testing a retail central bank digital currency? Jonas Gross. https://jonasgross.medium.com/cbdc-pioneers-which-countries-are-currently-testing-a-retail-central-bank-digital-currency-49333be477f4#:~:text=On%2016%20April%202020%2C%20the,Chengdu%2C%20and%20Xiong'an. Accessed 2 July 2021

  12. Vadgama N, Tasca P (2021) An analysis of blockchain adoption in supply chains between 2010 and 2020. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbloc.2021.610476/full. Accessed 2 July 2021

  13. Seba Bank (2020) Blockchain interoperability: towards a connected future. Seba Bank. https://www.seba.swiss/research/blockchain-interoperability-towards-a-connected-future. Accessed 2 July 2021

  14. World Economic Forum (2020) Inclusive deployment of blockchain for supply chains: part 6—a framework for blockchain interoperability. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_Framework_for_Blockchain_Interoperability_2020.pdf. Accessed 4 July 2021

  15. World Bank Group (2020) Blockchain interoperability. World Bank Group. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/373781615365676101/pdf/Blockchain-Interoperability.pdf. Accessed 4 July 2021

  16. De MCRW (2016) Blockchain and interoperability: key to mass adoption. Fin Extra. https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/18972/blockchain-and-interoperability-key-to-mass-adoption. Accessed 4 July 2021

  17. Brown RG (2020) The five ingredients of blockchain interoperability. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardgendalbrown/2020/02/13/the-five-ingredients-of-blockchain-interoperability/?sh=37120f4e58a1. Accessed 4 July 2021

  18. Ledger Insights (2021) GS1 US: supply chain blockchain has evolved, interoperability isn’t optional. Ledger Insights. https://www.ledgerinsights.com/gs1-us-supply-chain-blockchain-has-evolved-interoperability-isnt-optional/. Accessed 4 July 2021

  19. Tse S (2021) Blockchain interoperability: why it matters and how to make it happen? Read Write. https://readwrite.com/2021/05/05/blockchain-interoperability-why-it-matters-and-how-to-make-it-happen/. Accessed 4 July 2021

  20. White M, Skyes O (2021) Interoperability: is interoperability required? PWC. https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/assurance/risk-assurance/digital-and-technology-risk/accelerating-blockchain/overcoming-interoperability-collaboration-challenges.html. Accessed 4 July 2021

  21. Akhaldi N (2019) Blockchain interoperability in supply chain. iTransition. https://www.itransition.com/blog/blockchain-interoperability. Accessed 4 July 2021

  22. Orbis Research (2021) Global trade finance market anticipating a high boost at a CAGR of 5.4% during 2021–2026. Globe News Wire. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/05/26/2236093/0/en/Global-trade-finance-market-anticipating-a-high-boost-at-a-CAGR-of-5-4-during-2021-2026html. Accessed 4 July 2021

  23. UnChain (2021) Why is blockchain interoperability so important? UnChain. https://unchain.io/why-is-blockchain-interoperability-so-important/. Accessed 4 July 2021

  24. CFI (2021) Original equipment manufacturer. Corporate Finance Institute. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/original-equipment-manufacturer-oem/. Accessed 5 July 2021

  25. GS1 (2018) Bridging blockchains: interoperability is essential to the future of data sharing. GS1. https://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/bridgingblockchains.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2021

  26. IBM (2021) IBM Food Trust: a new era for the world’s food supply. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/my-en/blockchain/solutions/food-trust. Accessed 5 July 2021

  27. Wolfson R (2018) Understanding how IBM and others use blockchain technology to track global food supply chain. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwolfson/2018/07/11/understanding-how-ibm-and-others-use-blockchain-technology-to-track-global-food-supply-chain/?sh=2984992f2d1e. Accessed 5 July 2021

  28. Hyperledger (2021) Case study: how Walmart brought unprecedented transparency to the food supply chain with Hyperledger fabric. Hyperledger. https://www.hyperledger.org/learn/publications/walmart-case-study. Accessed 6 July 2021

  29. Lindley J, Graycar A (2020) Regulating the food supply chain through blockchain. The Regulatory Review. https://www.theregreview.org/2020/12/28/lindley-graycar-regulating-food-supply-chain-blockchain/. Accessed 6 July 2021

  30. Storj (2021) Decentralized cloud object storage for developers. Storj. https://www.storj.io/. Accessed 6 July 2021

  31. Gupta N (2020) Cross-border payments—Ripple vs Stellar. Akeo Tech. https://medium.com/akeo-tech/cross-border-payments-ripple-vs-stellar-af041523dea1. Accessed 6 July 2021

  32. VeChain (2021) What is VeChain. VeChain. https://www.vechain.com/. Accessed 6 July 2021

  33. Kajpust D (2018) Blockchain interoperability: Cosmos vs. Polkadot. Dave Kajpust. https://medium.com/@davekaj/blockchain-interoperability-cosmos-vs-polkadot-48097d54d2e2. Accessed 6 July 2021

  34. Binance Academy (2020) Blockchain oracles explained. Binance. https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/blockchain-oracles-explained. Accessed 6 July 2021

  35. Fransham J (2018) Never fork again. Polkadot Network. https://medium.com/polkadot-network/never-fork-again-438c5e985cd8. Accessed 6 July 2021

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Jalan Genting Klang, 53300, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Bryan Phern Chern Teoh & Bak Aun Teoh

Authors
  1. Bryan Phern Chern Teoh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bak Aun Teoh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bryan Phern Chern Teoh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Lumut, Perak, Malaysia

    Azman Ismail

  2. Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Lumut, Perak, Malaysia

    Wardiah Mohd Dahalan

  3. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Esslingen am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Andreas Öchsner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Teoh, B.P.C., Teoh, B.A. (2022). Blockchain Interoperability: Connecting Supply Chains Towards Mass Adoption. In: Ismail, A., Dahalan, W.M., Öchsner, A. (eds) Design in Maritime Engineering. Advanced Structured Materials, vol 167. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89988-2_23

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89988-2_23

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-89987-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-89988-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation