By Owen Halberg
The role of blockchain in supply chain management is reshaping how global trade operates. It promises clarity in a world where opacity has long allowed counterfeiting, fraud, and exploitation to thrive. But does visibility automatically mean accountability—and if not, who truly benefits from a more transparent supply chain?
The stakes are enormous. When trust in supply chains breaks down, consequences can be deadly. In 2018, a nationwide E. coli outbreak was traced to contaminated lettuce. Counterfeit medicines continue to circulate in global markets. Cobalt mined in conflict zones still powers much of the electronics industry. Each of these crises is fundamentally a crisis of visibility. Blockchain, with its immutable records and distributed trust, has been promoted as the antidote. Yet the deeper story is about power: whether new forms of transparency empower the vulnerable or simply reinforce the strong.
A New Era of Visible Logistics
The shipping industry offers the clearest demonstration of blockchain’s potential—and its limits. A 2025 study in MIS Quarterly Executive reported that the Maersk-IBM TradeLens platform scaled from early pilots to adoption by more than half of global container carriers, offering a glimpse of how blockchain could deliver real operational value. Researchers at Northeastern University found that TradeLens processed billions of shipping events and gave ports and customs agencies unprecedented real-time visibility into cargo flows.
But in 2022, Maersk announced that it would discontinue TradeLens, citing insufficient industry collaboration. Even with cutting-edge infrastructure, many competitors were reluctant to share sensitive data. The collapse of the project underscored a basic truth: technology cannot substitute for governance. Without trust and aligned incentives, transparency platforms will fail to gain traction.
Other firms have explored blockchain in logistics. DHL highlighted its potential for pharmaceutical traceability in its trend report, while FedEx piloted blockchain for chain-of-custody verification. Together, these cases show that blockchain can succeed at scale, but only if entire industries commit to common rules.
Pharmaceuticals: Fighting Counterfeits
In the pharmaceutical sector, counterfeit drugs remain a global crisis. Regulators in the United States responded with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), mandating a fully interoperable tracking system for prescription medicines.
The FDA accepted the MediLedger Project into its DSCSA pilot program in 2019. The collaboration brought together manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies to test whether blockchain could meet compliance demands. According to the final MediLedger DSCSA Pilot Report, blockchain enabled secure product verification and rapid response to suspect drug investigations while preserving commercial confidentiality through zero-knowledge proofs.
Unlike centralized serialization systems, blockchain offers an auditable record that no single actor controls. Still, achieving full adoption across a fragmented pharmaceutical industry remains the ultimate challenge.
Automotive & Critical Minerals
Automotive supply chains face mounting pressure to prove ethical sourcing of critical minerals. BMW Group piloted its PartChain initiative to track raw materials and components across multi-tier suppliers. Industry media such as Logistics Manager reported that BMW plans to expand the project through the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative, which it co-founded with other automakers.
Volvo took an even bolder step. Partnering with Circulor, it became the first automaker to use blockchain to trace cobalt in EV batteries. In a 2019 press release, Volvo Cars explained that customers would eventually be able to scan a QR code to see carbon footprint, recycled content, and sourcing data. As Reuters reported in 2024, Volvo introduced the world’s first EV “battery passport,” years ahead of the EU’s 2027 deadline, positioning itself as a leader in transparent mineral sourcing.
Tesla and other automakers are exploring similar blockchain-based passports, reflecting a broader shift toward regulatory compliance and ESG accountability.
Food & Agriculture
Food supply chains reveal both the promise and inequities of blockchain adoption. In 2017, Walmart launched a pilot with IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric to trace sliced mangoes. The LF Decentralized Trust case study documented how the trace time dropped from seven days to just 2.2 seconds. Subsequent research in Food Control confirmed that blockchain-enabled traceability transformed recall protocols and boosted consumer trust.
Walmart has since expanded blockchain tracking to leafy greens and dairy products. Nestlé piloted blockchain to trace coffee and infant formula, while tuna fisheries introduced QR-based blockchain systems to demonstrate sustainability. For consumers, scanning a product’s packaging can increasingly reveal its entire journey. Yet the barriers to entry remain steep for small producers, many of whom cannot afford the necessary digital tools.
Governance and Regulation
Governments are now embedding blockchain into law. The EU Battery Regulation, adopted in 2023, requires manufacturers to disclose carbon footprints, recycled content, and due-diligence practices. Minespider, a blockchain supply chain firm, noted that carbon reporting became mandatory in 2025, digital passports will be required in 2026, and full compliance obligations will arrive in 2027.
Testing authorities such as TÜV SÜD emphasized that CE marking will depend on compliance with these standards as early as 2024. In parallel, the EU’s Digital Product Passport is set to extend traceability requirements across textiles, electronics, and other sectors by 2026.
Elsewhere, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has tested blockchain for verifying imports, while China has developed the Blockchain-based Service Network, a state-backed infrastructure that links blockchain applications to Belt and Road trade corridors. These initiatives show how blockchain is shifting from experimental projects to regulatory infrastructure.
Risks and Critiques
Despite its promise, blockchain has significant drawbacks. Energy use remains a concern, even though permissioned blockchains are more efficient than public ones. Highly detailed ledgers raise the risk of surveillance, creating “supply chains of exposure” where sensitive business data becomes vulnerable. Interoperability is also limited: TradeLens, MediLedger, and OpenSC rarely communicate with one another, undermining the vision of seamless integration.
As Wired has argued, blockchain risks being more symbolic than substantive if it fails to solve coordination challenges. Critics warn that transparency alone, without governance reform, can strengthen incumbents rather than empower the vulnerable.
Beyond Visibility: Toward Equitable Transparency
The Role of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management must go beyond visibility to address equity. That means building governance frameworks that include SMEs and marginalized producers, ensuring physical-to-digital verification through IoT devices, adopting interoperable standards across industries, and launching training programs to bring excluded actors into the system.
As blockchain deepens transparency, its cultural resonance extends beyond logistics. Our essay on The Global Fashion Supply Chain’s Invisible Storytellers shows how hidden labor and cultural narratives shape fashion’s global story—reminding us that technology alone cannot solve entrenched inequalities.
Looking Ahead: Trust, Power, and the Future
Blockchain is poised to converge with digital twins and AI. Analysts at McKinsey have described how digital twin models, when combined with blockchain, can support predictive forecasting, climate simulations, and end-to-end supply chain optimization. Smart contracts could automate customs, tariffs, and insurance, while AI-enhanced twins anticipate disruptions before they unfold.
Blockchain could also underpin carbon accountability, making sustainability claims auditable from EV batteries to coffee beans. By tracing emissions and recycled content in real time, blockchain can turn abstract pledges into verifiable commitments.
The question is not whether blockchain can make supply chains visible, but whether it can make them just. For blockchain to fulfill its transformative promise, transparency must be paired with equity—turning clarity into accountability.
