An analysis of blockchain technology for improved performance in humanitarian logistics

This paper analyzes the impact of blockchain technology on commercial supply chain management and reveals improvement potentials for humanitarian logistics processes. Motivated by overcoming certain inefficiencies of today’s disaster response, the paper presents application areas in humanitarian logistics that could substantially benefit from blockchain implementation. In terms of methodology, this article is based on case study research including secondary data from 18 supply chain use-cases. Results of cross-case analysis indicate, that blockchain technology not only brings added value to commercial supply chains but could also lead to profound changes in the humanitarian sector.