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ABSTRACT
Traceability has become a critical element in supply chain management, particularly in safety-sensitive sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, etc. Upstream (manufacturers, producers, etc.) and downstream (distributors, wholesalers, etc.) supply chain members need to store and handle traceability-related information for providing proof of regulatory compliance to both state authorities and more demanding customers. Consumers also place high expectations on food supply chains (FSC) with specific emphasis on facets related to safety. However, the complexity of modern FSC networks and their fragmentation act as barriers for the development of sound traceability mechanisms. In this paper a distributed trustless and secure architecture for FSC traceability is developed and tested. For assessing the feasibility of the proposed approach, a food traceability case study from a dairy company is presented. The applicability of the model is further illustrated by the development of fully functional smart contracts and a local private blockchain. Moreover, the various links between the proposed blockchain-based model and its managerial implications are presented. The overall benefits of the proposed model are discussed along with fruitful areas for future research. The results are of significant value to both practitioners and researchers.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme (H2020), as part of the project LOCARD (https://locard.eu) [grant agreement no. 832735], and by the University of Piraeus Research Centre.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Fran Casino
Fran Casino Cembellín (Tarragona, 1986) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Informatics at Piraeus University (Piraeus, Greece). He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science in 2010 and his M.Sc. degree in Computer Security and Intelligent Systems in 2013, both from Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Rovira i Virgili University in 2017 with honours (A cum laude) as well as the best dissertation award. He was visiting researcher in ISCTE-IUL (Lisbon-2016). He has participated in several European-, Spanish- and Catalan-funded research projects and he has authored more than 40 publications in peer-reviewed international conferences and journals. His research focuses on pattern recognition, and data management applied to different fields such as privacy and security protection, recommender systems, smart health and blockchain.
Venetis Kanakaris
Venetis Kanakaris was born in Komotini, Greece. He received the B.Eng. degree in Electronic Engineering from Lamia Technical University, Greece, the B.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering from Kavala Technical University, Greece, in 2004, and the M.Sc. degree in Telecommunications and Technologies from Technical University of Gabrovo, Bulgaria, in 2006. Also, received his PhD from University of Portsmouth in 2012, U.K. as well as the M.Ed. from Open University of Greece in 2013. Since October of 2016, is adjunct Lecturer at International Hellenic University, Dept. of Computer Science, Kavala, Greece. His current research interests lie in energy ad hoc routing protocols and low-power underwater wireless sensor protocol architecture OSINT techniques, LORA infrastructures, Blockchain technologies in farming and agriculture. Besides the engineering research interests, he focusses on lifelong learning sector as well as the adult education. At the present he is postdoctoral student at School of Early Childhood Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece.
Thomas K. Dasaklis
Thomas K. Dasaklis graduated from the University of Piraeus, Department of Industrial Management and Technology. He holds a M.Sc. degree in supply chain management and a Ph.D. degree in emergency supply chain management and disaster response. His research interests lie in the area of supply chain management, operational research, humanitarian logistics/disaster response, data analysis, and blockchain technology. He has participated in National and European Research projects and has published papers in several international journals and conference proceedings. He has worked for the European Commission (DG Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection) and the University of Piraeus Research Centre. He has also worked in the private sector for three years as supply chain director. He is Adjunct Academic Staff at the Hellenic Open University. He is also seasonal lecturer at the Department of Informatics, University of Piraeus.
Socrates Moschuris
Socrates J. Moschuris is an Associate Professor of Logistics and Supply Management at the Department of Industrial Management and Technology, School of Maritime and Industrial Studies, University of Piraeus, Greece. He has a Bachelor degree from the Department of Business Administration, Piraeus Graduate School of Industrial Studies, Greece. He has also a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, Greece. He has extensive teaching and research experience in the field of supply management, procurement, supply chain management and logistics. Under his supervision, three Ph.D. dissertations have been completed. His work has been published in scientific journals such as Omega, European Journal of Marketing, Production and Inventory Management Journal, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Journal of Health Organization and Management, Journal of Public Procurement, EuroMed Journal of Business, and Sustainability. He has also published papers in conference proceedings and volumes. He has a large number of citations. He is a reviewer in a number of scientific journals. He is a member of the Economic Chamber of Greece, Hellenic Purchasing Institute, IPSERA, and Institute for Supply Management.
Spiros Stachtiaris
Spyridon Stachtiaris is a graduate of the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Agricultural University of Athens (1997), graduated from the Postgraduate Program in Decision Sciences (International MBA) at the Athens University of Economics and Business (2000). He holds a Master's Degree in “Integrated Rural Development and Management” from the Agricultural Economics Department of the Agricultural University of Athens (2006). Moreover, he holds a PhD from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Agricultural University of Athens on the topic of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) to participate in the market for quality products – a methodological approach (2013). He holds an ISO 9000: 2000 Quality Assurance Systems Inspector Certification from the International Inspection Certification Authority (IRCA / IATCA and RAB (USA)). He currently works at ELGO DIMITRA as a Strategic Planning and Policy Officer, where he has served for many years as Head of Services such as the Certification and Specifications Directorate as well as the General Directorate of Agricultural Education & Training. He has taught the course “Marketing Management” and “Total Quality Management” at the University of Patras and University of Piraeus. He has participated in research projects in the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit” at the Agricultural University of Athens and in Horizon 2020 research projects. His scientific interests are in the fields of Marketing Management, Rural Entrepreneurship and Quality Assurance management.
Maria Pagoni
Maria Pagoni graduated from the University of Bari, Italy, specializing in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She completed her master's degree in Molecular Medicine at the University of Essex in England. She won a scholarship from Cardiff University in Wales where she studied the genetics of prostate cancer and the role of environmental epigenetic activity in the development of the disease. During her stay, she taught General Biochemistry, Protein Biochemistry, Spectrophotometry, Enzymology, Microscopy and Histology to undergraduate students of the School of Medicine and Life Sciences. Her work on cancer was sponsored at the China-UK Cancer Conference 2015 in Cardiff, UK. She is trained in clinical trials by MTA, Medical Trials Analysis CRO, Italy. She was a collaborator of the Urological University Clinic of Patras, of the Bioinformatics laboratory at the BRFAA, but also of the Bioinformatic team of the department of Biochemistry of Bari in Italy. Today she is a collaborator of the proteomics at BRFAA and the pharmacology department of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. As a freelancer, is licensed to practice her profession in Research and Development and she is registered at the ONB (National Order of Biologist in Italy). She is professionally based in Italy and Greece. She is a co-owner of Pagonis Sisters and Co., dealing with quality control procedures and product design for people with medical records.
Nikolaos P. Rachaniotis
Nikolaos P. Rachaniotis is Assistant Professor in Supply Chain Management in University of Piraeus, Department of Industrial Management and Technology. His research interests lie in the area of Decision Support Systems, Humanitarian Logistics and Epidemics control. He has published in several peer-reviewed international academic journals such as International Journal of Production Research, European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Heuristics, Transportation Research Part E, Computers and Mathematics with Applications and International Journal of Logistics.