Blockchain for Supply Chain Efficacy on Counterfeit Part Avoidance

Hirbod is currently a Mechanical Engineering graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, concentrating in design and system reliability. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2019. Hirbod’s research interest is in applying engineering concepts to solve problems associated with human societies, organizations, interactions, and behaviors. He is currently researching in the area of applicability of agent-based modeling to address the global counterfeit electronics problem. He has also previously worked on designing the architecture of novel mesh reflectors for space-based radar systems at L3Harris Technologies.
 

Presentation Abstract

Blockchain technology, as a distributed ledger platform, has shown promise for resolving the issues associated with a lack of trust and improving the transparency in peer-to-peer transactional networks. There are opportunities to apply blockchain for supply chain concepts to mitigate the risks associated with part authenticity in the obsolete part supply chain.

Today, the conceptualized blockchain for the supply chain is limited to ensuring the authenticity for parts for which the original component manufacturer (OCM) currently provides active post-sales support. No application or analysis blockchain for the supply chain has addressed how the blockchain for parts evolves after the OCM and its authorized distributors depart from the commerce chain associated with the part. Once the independent distributor environment controls a part’s availability, blockchain’s meaning and value for the supply chain become murkier. While a system integrator can declare a policy that it would never procure a part that does not have a complete chain of custody back to the OCM, the reality is that no such parts may exist in the future even when part demand still exists. Several fundamental questions arise, including: without the OCM or an authorized distributor as the genesis block for the blockchain, who confirms the authenticity of a part on the blockchain? What are the implications of limited data entry by the supply chain actors leading to incomplete ledgers? How does the existence of a blockchain or the lack of a blockchain contribute to the trust the customer should have in a distributor?

This presentation introduces a blockchain framework resilient to aging (e.g., the loss of involvement of the OCM and its authorized distributors, and loss of part transaction history). An agent-based model is introduced as a novel platform to test the impact of the proposed blockchain framework on supply chain parties as well as the prevalence of counterfeits of obsolete parts. The model can validate the proposed protocol over the entire life cycle of a part (i.e., from active production to discontinuance and beyond) and predict the parties’ adoption rates, and changes in the prevalence of counterfeit parts with an aging blockchain.

Dr. Diganta Das

For more information or questions regarding the technical program (including Professional Development Courses), contact the Conference Chair, Dr. Diganta Das.

Karlie Severinson

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