TY - JOUR U1 - Wissenschaftlicher Artikel A1 - Wolf, Dieter A1 - Louw, Louis A1 - Palm, Daniel T1 - An analysis of blockchain versus relational databases for digitalising information flows in global supply chains using the analytic network process JF - International journal of production research N2 - Global trade is plagued by slow and inefficient manual processes associated with physical documents. Firms are constantly looking for new ways to improve transparency and increase the resilience of their supply chains. This can be solved by the digitalisation of supply chains and the automation of document- and information-sharing processes. Blockchain is touted as a solution to these issues due to its unique combination of features, such as immutability, decentralisation and transparency. A lack of business cases that quantify the costs and benefits causes uncertainty regarding the truth of these claims. This paper explores how the costs and benefits of a blockchain-based solution for digitalising and automating documentation flows in cross-border supply chains compare to a conventional centralised relational database solution. The research described in this paper uses primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with industry experts, as well as secondary data from literature. Two models based on existing services were developed and the costs and benefits compared and then analysed using the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP). Findings from the analysis show that a consortium blockchain solution like TradeLens is the favourable solution for digitalising and automating information flows in cross-border supply chains. KW - Blockchain KW - relational database KW - supply chain digitalisation KW - Analytic Network Process KW - SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure KW - cross-border trade Y1 - 2024 SN - 0020-7543 SS - 0020-7543 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2282751 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2282751 VL - 62 IS - 14 SP - 5016 EP - 5035 S1 - 20 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER -