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ABSTRACT
Most of product waste is due to label problems and handling errors, some retailers try to use blockchain-based system to tackle food waste. However, blockchain adoption requires the participation of all supply chain members (e.g. suppliers and logistics service providers) while their incentives remain unclear. Considering a multi-tier system comprising a supplier, a retailer and a logistic service provider, we solve a multi-stage optimisation problem when the products stored in advance are subject to shelf-life due date risk while the real-time order is subject to upstream responsive pricing threat. We evaluate the effectiveness of product tracking system based on blockchain applications. Both real-data validation and game theoretic analysis reveal the stakeholder’s participation incentive conflicts and the dark side of triple-marginalization. However, a sequential co-opetition mechanism is capable of coordinating the stakeholders’ preferences for the product tracking system. We further find that saving waste and balancing the advanced and real-time orders do not necessarily indicate improvement of environmental sustainability. We suggest that: Retailers should carefully judge the product tracking system because of the potential lose-lose situation for profitability and sustainability. But once retailers can profit from blockchain adoption, suppliers are likely to profit from joining the blockchain.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to the editor and reviewers for their helpful comments. Enkai Zhang is the co-first author and Jian Dong is the corresponding.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2020.0900
.Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Baozhuang Niu
Baozhuang Niu received his Ph.D. degree in Operations Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2011. He is currently a Full Professor at the South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. His research interests include co-opetitive supply chain and cross-border operations. He has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed flag journals including MSOM (2 papers), POM (9 papers), TRB (3 papers), and IJPR (5 papers) till now. He serves as Senior Editor of Production and Operations Management.
Enkai Zhang
Enkai Zhang is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in Management Science and Engineering with the School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. His research interests include global operations, technology-driven supply chain, and supply chain resilience. His papers have appeared in International Journal of Production Research.
Jian Dong
Jian Dong is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in Management Science and Engineering with the School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. His research interests include sustainable supply chain, global operations, and supply chain resilience. His papers have appeared in Risk Analysis, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review and International Journal of Production Research.