Closing the Supply Chain Circularity Gap with Block Chain

A circular supply chain refers to a sustainable business model that aims to reduce waste and promote resource efficiency throughout the entire lifecycle of a product. Globally, supply chains are being transformed to support circularity through the adoption of technology like blockchain. With the real-time data-sharing capabilities of Blockchain (BC), unparalleled visibility, instant reporting, and priceless insights can be used to trigger circular behaviors in supply chains. Because of these reasons, BC has become a critical technology solution for creating sustainable, circular, and transparent supply chains for industries. However, the building blocks of BC may not be efficiently implemented in all the functions of the supply chain because of the complexities faced by the stakeholders at different levels. This study aims to identify BC's circular building blocks (CBB) for the circular supply chain (CSC). Further, the study investigates supply chain functions that can quickly adopt blockchain. It is found that BC adoption is more significant in procurement, manufacturing, and remanufacturing functions as the circularity of the supply chain is more prominent in these functions.