Proposição de um Framework para aplicar o Blockchain na rastreabilidade de produtos agroalimentares

Abstract

The traceability of agri-food products is a critical issue for organizations involved in these supply chains. This is because monitoring a set of information at different stages of the production chain requires integration and interchangeability of data. To address this problem, several studies are considering Blockchain technology as a mechanism to establish traceability of agri-food products, as Blockchain has features of traceability, transparency, reliability, monitoring, and information sharing. However, upon analyzing the existing literature, it is evident that there is no structured, replicable, and systematic way to implement Blockchain technology in agri-food product traceability. Therefore, the objective of this study is to propose a framework to apply Blockchain in agri-food product traceability. To achieve this objective, Design Science Research (DSR) was used as a research method. As a result, the Agri-Food Trace Framework is proposed, an artifact organized into three categories: business design, governance design, and technical design. The business design addresses decisions related to institutional and supply chain vision from a traceability perspective. Governance design portrays decisions about the governance of the solution as a connected network, and technical design deals with technical decisions related to solution architecture. Two evaluation cycles were used to evaluate the artifact. The first cycle consisted of 8 semi-structured interviews with experts, and the second cycle was formatted from a practical application. This practical application occurred in Brazil's second-largest beef producer, based on direct observation with company specialists. The main results show that the Agri-Food Trace Framework is useful, comprehensive, and flexible to apply Blockchain technology in agri-food product traceability and can be used by researchers and managers seeking directions to implement traceability solutions based on Blockchain technology. Additionally, the Agri-Food Trace Framework extends knowledge regarding existing artifacts by incorporating elements associated with business characteristics and governance decisions.