A blockchain and IoT-based lightweight framework for enabling information transparency in supply chain finance

Supply Chain Finance(SCF)refers to the financial service in which banks rely on core enterprises to manage the capital flow and logistics of upstream and downstream enterprises.SCF adopts a self-testing and closed-loop credit model to control funds and risks.The key factor in a successful SCF service is the deployment of SCF businessoriented information systems that allow businesses to form partnerships efficiently and expedite cash flows throughout the supply chain.Blockchain Technology(BCT),featuring decentralization,tamper-proofing,traceability,which is usually paired with the Internet of Things(IoT)in real-world contexts,has been widely adopted in the field of finance and is perfectly positioned to facilitate innovative collaborations among participants in supply chain networks.In this paper,we propose a BCT and IoT-based information management framework(named BC4Regu),which works as the regulatory to improve the information transparency in the business process of SCF.With BC4Regu,the operation cost of the whole supply chain can be significantly reduced through the coordination and integration of capital flow,information flow,logistics and trade flow in the supply chain.The contributions in this paper include:(1)proposing a novel information management framework which leverages Blockchain and IoT to solve the problem of information asymmetry in the trade of SCF;(2)proposing the technical design of BC4Regu,including the Blockchain infrastructure,distributed ledger-based integrated data flow service,and reshaped SCF process;and(3)applying BC4Regu to a group of scenarios and conducting theoretical analysis by introducing the principal-agent model to validate the BC4Regu.

Development of Supply Chain Finance, Financial Constraints and Cash Flow Sensitivity

This paper used the Chinese listing Corporation financial data （2003-2013） to study the relationship between the supply chain finance development, SME financing constraints and cash flow. The study found that the small and medium-sized enterprise has obvious cash flow sensitivity, explaining it is subjected to the larger financing constraints. The development of supply chain finance can alleviate the financing constraints of SMEs, but for large enterprises it is unable to play a corresponding role.

Research on Application of Supply Chain Finance Based on Block Chain

Supply chain finance has played a positive role in solving the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises.However,in the actual implementation process,there are still problems such as information asymmetry,doubts about the authenticity of trade background,and high operational risks,which seriously restrict the development of supply chain finance.However,block chain technology has the characteristics of de-centralization,data transparency,common maintenance and non-tampering.Applying this technology to supply chain finance can effectively solve the existing problems.Based on the research on the development status of traditional supply chain finance,this paper puts forward a new development mode of supply chain finance based on block chain technology,and through the analysis of typical cases,finally gives some policy suggestions for the development of block chain supply chain finance.

Financing Decisions Analysis of E-commerce Supply Chain Finance for Fresh Agricultural Products in China

The supply chain finance(SCF)solutions are becoming increasingly diversified with the continuous perfection of the economic system.However,financing for small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs)is still a difficult issue waiting to be solved by enterprises and the government in China.SCF solutions based on e-commerce platforms have developed rapidly in China that provide an alternative for SMEs when few studies have been conducted on e-commerce SCF solutions which focus on fresh agricultural products.Therefore,this research focuses on the SCF solutions applicable to e-commerce enterprises of fresh agricultural products.

Financial Coordination and Income Distribution of Agricultural Supply Chain

The agriculture field is a fundamental industry which supports the rapid development of the nation?s economy.However,credit constraints faced by farmers have restricted the modernization in the agricultural industry.The agricultural supply chain finance is effective in promoting rural industrial revitalization and agricultural modernization,which is of great significance to the transformation and development of rural economy and agriculture in China.In this paper,the financial coordination model in agricultural supply chain is constructed,and the income distribution model of Shapley value method is introduced.The results showed that the agricultural supply chain finance can significantly improve the income of the participants in the agricultural industrial chain and verify the economic feasibility of agricultural supply chain finance.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Closed-Loop Supply Chain Finance Risk Based on Evolutionary Game Theory and System Dynamics

After building a dynamic evolutionary game model, the essay studies the stability of the equilibrium in the game between the commercial banks and the closed-loop supply chain(CLSC) enterprises. By design of systematic mechanism based on system dynamics theory, capital chains of independent small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) on CLSC are organically linked together. Moreover, a comparative simulation is studied for the previous independent and post-design dependent systems. The study shows that with business expanding and market risk growing, the independent finance chains of SMEs on CLSC often take on a certain vulnerability, while the SMEs closed-loop supply chain finance system itself is with a strong rigidity and concerto.

The privacy protection mechanism of Hyperledger Fabric and its application in supply chain finance

Blockchain technology ensures that data is tamper-proof,traceable,and trustworthy.This article introduces a wellknown blockchain technology implementation—Hyperledger Fabric.The basic framework and privacy protection mechanisms of Hyperledger Fabric such as certificate authority,channel,Private Data Collection,etc.are described.As an example,a specific business scenario of supply chain finance is figured out.And accordingly,some design details about how to apply these privacy protection mechanisms are described.

Blockchain-driven supply chain finance solution for small and medium enterprises

Blockchain has attracted much attention in recent years with the development of cryptocurrency and digital assets.As the underlying technology of cryptocurrency,blockchain has numerous benefits,such as decentralization,collective maintenance,tamper-resistance,traceability,and anonymity.The potential of the blockchain technology(BT)is widely recognized in the financial field.Although some scholars have proposed the combination of blockchain and supply chain finance(SCF),the details of this combination is rarely mentioned.This study first analyzes the coupling between SCF and blockchain technology.Second,the conceptual framework of blockchain-driven SCF platform(BcSCFP)is presented.Third,the operation process of three SCF models on the BcSCFP is proposed.Finally,a case study combined with actual events is conducted.This paper has a positive practical significance in the operation and management of banks and loan enterprises.

The privacy protection mechanism of Hyperledger Fabric and its application in supply chain finance

Blockchain technology ensures that data is tamper-proof,traceable,and trustworthy.This article introduces a wellknown blockchain technology implementation—Hyperledger Fabric.The basic framework and privacy protection mechanisms of Hyperledger Fabric such as certificate authority,channel,Private Data Collection,etc.are described.As an example,a specific business scenario of supply chain finance is figured out.And accordingly,some design details about how to apply these privacy protection mechanisms are described.

Blockchain,Enterprise Digitalization,and Supply Chain Finance Innovation

Digital supply chain finance is an innovative product created through the integration of the blockchain technology and traditional supply chain finance.This paper constructs the theoretical framework of mortgage financing from banks by enterprises in the supply chain network,and systematically analyzes the economic rationale governing the digital supply chain finance,along with its pros and cons compared with traditional supply chain finance.The findings show,when there are enough enterprises on the supply chain and sufficient qualified information about these enterprises,the consensus mechanism of the supply chain can reveal closeto-truth enterprise information and prevent information manipulation,malicious fraud,and other moral hazards so that banks can provide accessible and affordable financing services for enterprises on the chain with risks effectively controlled.Otherwise,if there are not enough enterprises on the chain and the credibility of their information cannot be guaranteed,banks will prefer traditional offline methods such as due diligence for risk control.This paper theoretically reveals that,along with the broad application of the blockchain technology in the supply chain and the resulting digitalization of enterprises,digital supply chain finance based on blockchain technology will become a more efficient and inclusive means of financial support.

Rural Revitalization Enabled by Digital Transformation of Small and Medium-Sized Rural Banks and Double Chain Linkage Model Innovation

How small and medium-sized(SMS)rural banks,as the main banks offering rural financial services,serve all-round rural revitalization is a vital realistic and policy issue for the time being.Now,SMS rural banks are confronted with many shortcomings in serving rural revitalization due to dull financial service supply chain circulation and lack of coordination with the rural industry supply chain.The research based on survey data and typical cases shows that the key to solving these problems is to realize a double chain linkage of the financial service supply chain and the rural industry supply chain:The financial service supply chain and the rural industry supply chain should make use of their common infrastructure,share the digital technology capacity and data handling capacity and promote the linkage of customers,channels and scenarios in all links of the two supply chains in a bid to realize mutual promotion and improve the quality and efficiency of the two chains and hence fuel the all-round rural revitalization through industrial revitalization.Double chain linkage can be achieved through five major effective means:in terms of data,collaborating with digital rural governance and strengthening data collection and utilization;in terms of industry,collaborating with core entity enterprises and strengthening the supply chain financial service capacity;in terms of ecology,collaborating with internet technology companies and enhancing ecological,scenario and technological enabling;in terms of channels,collaborating with rural service and focusing on channel linkage,offline network,mobile services and village financial officers,etc.;and in terms of cooperation,constructing the common infrastructure of SMS rural banks and boosting the efficiency of digital enabling innovation.

Price Masking Strategy of Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform Financing

E-commerce platform financing is a new service pattern of supply chain finance.However,this pattern may bring some new issues when considering the problem of cash flow shortage and financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises.When enterprises use this service,they worry about the leakage of preferential wholesale price when applying the full loan amount and providing the true transaction information.Based on the model consisting of a supplier,a retailer and a cross-border e-commerce platform,the authors design a price masking strategy to prevent the retailer’s preferential wholesale price information from leakage.The authors analyze the profit of the retailer and the platform before and after adopting the price masking strategy.The authors find that the price masking strategy always benefits the retailer.Besides,the optimal profit of the retailer and the platform are both affected by the loan interest rate.Moreover,there exists a range of loan interest rates that can benefit both the retailer and the platform if the price masking strategy is adopted.The research emphasizes that platform can expand the total business volume by allowing retailers to use price masking strategy.In other words,there will be more and more retailers attracted by the strategy,which benefits the long-term growth of cross-border e-commerce platform financing.

Trade Credit and Buyer Financing

This study investigates trade credit and early payment financing in a three-party supply chain consisting of a manufacturer,a capital-constrained distributor,and a retail platform.The manufacturer or the platform provides the financing service to the distributor.Two different leadership structures are investigated,namely,platform and manufacturer leadership Stackelberg game,where the platform or manufacturer first makes the decision,respectively.Under trade credit financing,the manufacturer and the whole supply chain face loss when the commission rate increases.However,under buyer financing,they benefit from the high commission rate.Under platform leadership,the distributor,the manufacturer,and the supply chain perform better with trade credit if and only if the commission rate is small or the production cost is high,while the platform always prefers buyer financing.Under manufacturer leadership,the distributor,manufacturer,and supply chain perform better with trade credit under low production cost and commission rate.The platform prefers trade credit when production cost is in the intermediate range.By further analyzing the case that both financing channels are available and the distributor decides which one to choose,we find that the financing services competition hurts only the platform's profits.And under certain conditions,trade credit and early payment can achieve the same performance for every supply chain member.These findings enhance our understanding of the supply chain risk allocation efficiency of trade credit and early payment financing under different leadership structures.Neither risk allocation form outperforms the other,and the relative efficiency depends on supply chain characteristics.