Reinventing reverse logistics through blockchain technology: a comprehensive review and future research propositions

ABSTRACT

Blockchain Technology (BCT) has effectively evolved in reverse logistics (RL) to speed up its operation by decentralising, tracing, and monitoring the goods delivered to the end consumers. This study outlines the current research fashion of BCT applicability in RL from 2015 to 22. A wide range of 226 research papers is selected from the SCOPUS database to conduct the bibliometric and network analysis for offering a comprehensive literature review on research clusters and fashions of BCT in RL. Some primary research clusters such as infrastructure development, sustainable manufacturing, logistics, circular supply chain, and waste management are identified. The network analysis has helped identify pioneer authors, journals, and countries actively involved in BCT research in RL. The content analysis findings indicate the evolution of BCT in various themes of RL. The articles also develop a result systematisation framework to concisely offer the outcomes of this research. Further, the current study provides recommendations for future research work for academic and industry practitioners based on the existing literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Blockchain technology
• reverse logistics
• content analysis
• systematisation framework

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ashutosh Samadhiya

Ashutosh Samadhiya is a research scholar of production and operations management and pursuing PhD from the Department of Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. His research area includes lean, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Sustainable Manufacturing, Design Thinking and Innovation management. He has presented papers in many recognised international conferences such as POMS and IEOM. Mr. Samadhiya has published one Indian patent, and papers in recognised journals like Production Planning & Control. He was selected for the prestigious Newton Bhabha fellowship 2021. He completed his visit as a visiting research fellow at the University of Derby, UK, under Newton-Bhabha PhD placement programme 2021.

Anil Kumar

Anil Kumar is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University (LMU), London, U.K. For the last eleven years, he has been associated with teaching and research. Before joining LMU, he was Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the area of Decision Sciences at the Centre for Supply Chain Improvement, University of Derby, United Kingdom (UK). He has contributed over 150+ research papers in international referred & national journals, and conferences at the international and national levels. He has sound analytical capabilities to handle commercial consultancy projects and to deliver business improvement projects. He has skills and expertise in Advance Statistics Models, Multivariate Analysis, Multi-Criteria Decision Making, Fuzzy Theory, Fuzzy Optimisation, Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making, Grey Theory and Analysis, Machine Learning, Application of Soft-Computing, Econometrics Models etc. His areas of research are sustainability science, green/sustainable supply chain management, customer retention, green purchasing behaviour, sustainable procurement, sustainable development, circular economy, Industry 4.0, performance measurement, human capital in supply chain and operations, decision modelling for sustainable business, and integration of operation area with other areas.

Rohit Agrawal

Rohit Agrawal is an Assistant Professor with IIM Bodh Gaya in Operations Management & Quantitative Techniques. Prior to joining IIM Bodh Gaya, He worked as Sr. Project Scientist in the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering at IIT Delhi. He is Ph.D. in Production Engineering from NIT, Tiruchirappalli. He has done his M.Tech. in Industrial Engineering and Management from NIT, Tiruchirappalli, and B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg. His broad area of research and teaching interests lie in the fields of Industry 4.0, Sustainable and closed-loop supply chain, circular economy, digital manufacturing, and additive manufacturing.

Yigit Kazancoglu

Yigit Kazancoglu received his B.S. degree from Eastern Mediterranean University, Dept. of Industrial Engineering. He has graduated from Coventry University, UK, MBA and Izmir University of Economics MBA programs. Kazancoglu has received his PhD. at Ege University (Production&Operations Management) in 2008. He is working as a Full Professor Dr. in Yasar University, Logistics Management Department. He is the head of Logistics Management Department in Yasar University since 2017. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed international journals. His research areas are: Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability, Circular Economy. Prof. Dr. Kazancoglu, is ranked as the top scholar in Turkey according to P-Rank (2016-2021) based on both ‘ABDC Journal Quality List’ ve ‘Scimago Journal Ranks’. He is associate editor in IJMEMS (International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences.

Rajat Agrawal

Rajat Agrawal is a Professor at Department of Management Studies and Joint Faculty at Department of Design at IIT Roorkee. His research area includes Supply chain Management, Manufacturing Excellence, innovation management and Intellectual Property Management. He is reviewer of many journals of repute and published in journals such as Journal of Cleaner Production, resource conservation and recycling, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, safety science etc.