Blockchain-driven transformation in supply chain management: A decade of lessons, gaps, and strategic pathways for business leaders

This paper examines how blockchain technology addresses persistent supply chain challenges, fragmented operations, weak traceability, and low stakeholder trust, while identifying strategic pathways for business leaders. A systematic literature review was performed on peer-reviewed documents indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and ScienceDirect from January 2016 through December 2025. Following PRISMA-guided screening and quality appraisal, the final analytical corpus comprised 53 high-impact studies, supplemented by sector-specific case analyses in agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. The findings reveal that blockchain enables real-time data sharing, reduces fraud through immutable record-keeping, and automates compliance via smart contracts, with consortium blockchains (e.g. Hyperledger Fabric) demonstrating effectiveness in agri-food traceability, achieving up to 18% spoilage reduction. However, implementation barriers persist public blockchains process fewer than 100 transactions per second versus centralized systems exceeding 10,000 TPS; interoperability between permissioned and permissionless networks remains unresolved, and fewer than 5% of studies provide empirical validation of return on investment. For policymakers, we recommend adaptive governance frameworks that balance data privacy (GDPR compliance) with cross-jurisdictional standardization. For industry executives, the study provides actionable pathways including hybrid blockchain architectures that integrate with existing IoT and AI infrastructure, energy-efficient consensus protocols (Proof-of-Stake, PBFT) that circumvent the sustainability paradox of Proof-of-Work systems, and stakeholder-specific adoption roadmaps. The paper’s primary contribution is a decade-spanning synthesis that moves beyond theoretical propositions to deliver empirically grounded, sector-contingent strategic guidance, positioning blockchain not as a technological panacea but as a deliberately deployable instrument for supply chain resilience in a digitally connected economy.