[Logprofs] Journal of Business Logistics - Call for papers on Blockchain

[Shashank Rao]

Hello

Can you please forward the following to the logprofs list?

Thanks,
SR


Dear Colleagues:



As you may be aware, the *Journal of Business Logistics* (i.e., JBL) has
issued a call for a special topic forum (STF) titled *Blockchain
Applications in the Supply Chain*. We anticipate that this STF will be
received with a lot of interest among the academic and practitioner
community. The official call is appended below. As you can see, the focus
is on practical applications of Blockchain with special interest given to
managerial contributions. Each paper will, therefore, be reviewed by at
least one practitioner with experience/expertise in Blockchain.



As part of the preparation for this STF, we are excited to announce that we
will soon be *hosting a webinar* moderated by the guest editors, which will
feature speakers from industry. One of the STF guest editors from industry
(i.e., Yorke Rhodes - Microsoft) will be sharing insights from the field
and will discuss issues that may be of particular interest for prospective
contributors to the STF.



We hereby request your participation at the webinars, the times of which
will be announced shortly. Subsequent to the event, the recording will also
be made available for those who are unable to attend live.



At this time, we request you to please submit any questions that you may
want addressed in the webinar, either from the standpoint of an* Introduction
to Blockchain*, or the STF itself. Please email these to the STF co-editor
Shashank Rao (shashank.rao at auburn.edu) by *Friday, March 2*. We will do our
best to include as many of these questions in the webinar.  *The window for
paper submissions is March 1 THROUGH September 1*. Papers will be processed
as they are received.



We thank you for your cooperation, and look forward to your participation.



Best regards,

Tom & Walter





JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS



CALL FOR PAPERS: SPECIAL TOPICS FORUM



Blockchain:

Applications and Strategies for Supply Chain Research and Practice





Few technological developments in the past two decades have intrigued
Supply Chain and Logistics (SC&L) managers as much as Blockchain. In fact,
some have called it the most important invention since the Internet itself.
Several articles have appeared recently in the popular press (e.g., *Harvard
Business Review*, *Forbes,* and the *Wall Street Journal*) discussing the
potential of Blockchain in the management of SC&L. Similarly, leading
companies known for supply chain excellence (e.g., WalMart, Toyota) have
been testing Blockchain applications, and major IT companies (e.g.,
Microsoft, IBM, Deloitte) have either developed or are in the process of
developing product offerings that can help companies implement Blockchain
across their supply chains.



At its heart, a Blockchain is a distributed database of records (a public
ledger of sorts), that represents all transactions or digital events that
have been executed and shared among participating parties. Once entered
into the Blockchain, the information cannot be deleted / erased. By
extension, the Blockchain for a product shall contain a definite and
verifiable record of *every single transaction* ever made in the life of
the product. Consider for example, the Blockchain pilot currently being
considered by WalMart, regarding pork traceability through production,
distribution, and retail. By making the pork vendors participants in the
Blockchain, WalMart aims to create a “chain” of transactional information,
wherein each link in the chain is a “block” (e.g. how the animal was
raised, its processing and handling, and its journey through the supply
chain). Given the data is logged in a distributed ledger, no single user /
entity is able to unilaterally delete it. However, many users may access,
inspect, or even add additional blocks to the data. The end result is a
high level of transparency, accountability, and visibility.



Despite the tremendous promises of Blockchain technology in the Supply
Chain, several challenges remain. To start with, given the relative newness
of the technology itself, SC&L managers are still looking for areas where
Blockchain can provide the most value. SC&L scholars therefore, have a
unique opportunity to serve as thought leaders in this area, by laying the
groundwork for managerial understanding, and also setting the course that
SC&L Blockchain practice takes in the coming decades.



This STF will solicit manuscripts emphasizing all methodologies, including
empirical (primary as well as secondary / archival), qualitative (inductive
as well as deductive), simulation, and analytical modeling. In addition,
given the relative newness of the focal research area, solid conceptual
manuscripts that lay out the agenda for subsequent practice are also
welcomed. The major topics of interest include, but are not limited to:



·       Blockchain applications in manufacturing, retail, and services
including banking and finance. For example, the value of authenticity in
multi-ingredient supply chains (e.g., food manufacturing and distribution),
and Blockchain’s ability to assist in this regard.

·       Blockchain applications in product tracing (e.g., product safety,
supply chain visibility, transparency, etc.)

·       Investigations into the most common sensors in use in today’s
supply chain (e.g., GPS, Smart labels, etc.). How are they being used and
what are gaps in their application? How can / cannot Blockchain fill these
gaps?

·       What are stack ranked scenarios where there are contractual
disputes or satisfaction issues between supply chain partners today and
what are the contributing factors? How can Blockchain help with these
challenges?

·       Critical success factors germane to Blockchain – for example, how
open are supply chain participants to sharing data (a key ingredient of
Blockchain success)? What insights / types of visibility into the supply
chain do channel partners want today but cannot get?

·       Blockchain in procurement (e.g., ethical sourcing)

·       Use of ledgers in Blockchain

·       Blockchain for public services and non-profit

·       Product safety monitoring, anti-counterfeiting, stolen merchandise
recovery, and general fraud prevention with Blockchain

·       Interface of Blockchain with other supply chain technologies (e.g.,
RFID, ERP, etc.) and other aspects of the supply chain, and technology
constraints companies encounter when evaluating Blockchain.

·       Case studies of Blockchain implementation in the supply chain,
broadly defined (successes, failures, startups, etc.)



All manuscripts submitted to the STF will go through *JBL’s *double-blind
review process. *Given the strong managerial leaning of Blockchain, authors
can also expect that every manuscript will receive at least one review from
a high-ranking industry executive currently working on Blockchain*. The
industry review will focus on the managerial contributions of the
manuscript, its value to industry, and the feasibility of the
recommendations. Therefore, a solid managerial implications section is
expected for every submitted manuscript.



Submissions will be accepted between March 1, 2018 and September 1, 2018.
Please submit your paper via Manuscript Central and note that it is a
special topic forum submission. You can learn more by e-mailing the guest
editor at shashank.rao at auburn.edu, or the other STF editorial team members
at senthil at auburn.edu, jpatton at auburn.edu, or yorkerhodes at microsoft.com.
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