Since Brexit, logistics firms have faced addition friction at UK Borders. There have been calls for automated digital borders, but few such systems exist. A new paper by DECADE researchers draws on the Reducing Friction in International Trade (RFIT) project. RFIT developed a supply chain platform that integrates with UK Border agencies and uses blockchain to secure a common data set, reducing errors, improving data visibility and helping build trust.
The case example of the import of wine from Australia was used to study the technological characteristics of blockchain and how inbuilt data transparency and integrity affect trust and trustworthiness. Trust is imperative in any business dealings. Current academic literature on the role of trust in supply chains examines simple, linear supply chains. However, there is limited use of trust building frameworks to study relationships within the complex multiparty supply chains that are typical of today’s global supply chains.
Research finds that the RFIT blockchain platform improved the process of trust formation and maintenance in relationships between participants of the wine supply chain. The end-to-end visibility of immutable data helped create a trust ecosystem, broadening trust relationships beyond the business-to-business dyad. However, technology does not change the requirement for trust between supply partners or the trust-based policy of the UK Government at the customs border. Read the full article here.
