Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

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Blockchain: Research and Applications

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/blockchain-research-and-applications

Review Article

Security and QoS issues in blockchain enabled next-generation smart

logistic networks: A tutorial
Anjali Vaghani a, *, Keshav Sood a, Shui Yu b
a
Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
b
University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

MSC: The blockchain-enabled smart logistics market is expected to grow worth USD 1620 billion and at a compound
00-01 annual growth rate of 62.4%. Smart logistics ensures intelligence infrastructure, logistics automation, real-time
99-00 analysis of supply chain data synchronization of the logistics process, cost transparency, unbroken shipment
Keywords: tracking all the way down to the transportation route, etc. In the smart logistics domain, significant advancement
Blockchain and growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are evident. However, the connectivity of IoT systems,
Internet of Things
including Tactile Internet, without proper safeguards creates vulnerabilities that can still be deliberately or
5G
6G
inadvertently cause disruption. In view of this, we primarily notice two key issues. Firstly, the logistics domain
Security can be compromised by a variety of natural or man-made activities, which eventually affect the overall network
Smart logistics security. Secondly, there are thousands of entities in the supply chain network that use extensive machine-
learning algorithms in many scenarios, and they require high-power computational resources. From these two
challenges, we note that the first concern can be addressed by adding blockchain to IoT logistic networks. The
second issue can be addressed using 6G. This will support 1-μs latency communications, support seamless
computing at the edges of networks, and autonomously predict the best optimal location for edge computing.
Motivated by this, we have highlighted motivational examples to show the necessity to integrate 6G and
blockchain in smart logistic networks. Then, we have proposed a 6G and blockchain-enabled smart logistic high-
level framework. We have presented the key intrinsic issues of this framework mainly from the security and
resource management context. In this paper, recent state-of-the-art advances in blockchain enabled next-
generation smart logistic networks are analyzed. We have also examined why 6G and not 5G would be
compatible with the smart network. We have introduced five different use cases of blockchain technology in smart
logistics. Later, this paper discusses some important concerns that blockchain in smart logistics might face. We
have also provided potential solutions to tackle these concerns.

1. Introduction Smart logistics enhances the way organizations transport goods, handle
inventory and mobility assets, restock stock, and manage the retail
It is evident that delivering essential services that are crucial to our experience by bringing end-to-end visibility and using connected devices
way of life, such as electricity, communications, transport, banking, etc., in the supply chain and intelligent asset tracking technologies.
we are now more reliant on smart sensor technology or Internet of Things Sensor-driven asset tracking technologies, for example, can provide
(IoT) technology [1–3]. Critical infrastructure is becoming increasingly insight at each stage of shipment, tracking moisture, heat, and vibration
interconnected and interdependent, resulting in efficiency improvements to provide businesses with real-time visibility as a product moves
and cost savings. Automation in transport and logistics is not a new through the supply chain [6].
phenomenon. With the rapid pace it is growing and with Industry 4.0, we As per the Australian Industry Standard report, “the Transport and
call it smart transportation and logistics [4,5]. In particular, smart lo- Logistics industry in Australia has an estimated annual revenue of $96.65
gistics makes supply chains more effective and efficient at each step. billion, adding $39.95 billion to the Australian economy in 2017” [7]. The

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Vaghani), [email protected] (K. Sood), [email protected] (S. Yu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcra.2022.100082
Received 25 December 2021; Received in revised form 1 March 2022; Accepted 25 March 2022
2096-7209/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Zhejiang University Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

key driving force behind this is IoT-based smart network deployment in Motivated by this, we observe that there is an urgent need to study the
the supply chain (transportation and logistics sector). For the global lo- concepts of blockchain and 6G in this sector (as shown in Fig. 1). The key
gistics industry, it is forecasted that up to USD 2.5 trillion of additional issues, such as security and resource utilization, need further investiga-
value will be generated by the IoT by 2025. Although the significant tion. In this chapter, we have comprehensively provided a synthesis of
growth of this sector has been seen, at the same time, this has pushed the existing literature and provided our opinions to address these key
researchers to identify novel promising innovations across (a) IoT secu- issues. Our contributions are as below.
rity environments and (b) effective resource utilization in order to
enhance network security and transparency as well as to make resource 1. We are among the early ones to critically evaluate the needs of the
utilization strategies effective for the supply chain systems. integration of blockchain and 6G in the smart logistics sector.
Security perspectives. On the one hand, we have seen a tremendous 2. We have comprehensively discussed the security and resource utili-
growth in IoT sensor-based supply chain networks, but on the other hand, zation issues in this sector. Given this, we have mentioned a few open
we have seen many adverse scenarios that urge us to rethink the design of issues. A high-level view of addressing these issues is also presented.
sensor-enabled autonomous supply chain networks. Recent events, such
as compromises of the Australian parliamentary network, university In the following sections, Section 2 comprehensively discusses the need
networks, and major business entities; natural disasters; and the effects of for integration of 6G and blockchain in the smart logistics domain. Sec-
COVID-19, show that threats to the operation of Australia's critical tion 3 highlights the closely related work in this area. A high-level view of
infrastructure entities remain serious. Key supply chain businesses the smart logistics sector with Blockchain is discussed in Section 4.
transporting groceries and medical supplies have also been targeted [8, Various novel use case scenarios of smart logistics are discussed in Sec-
9]. Now, to strengthen the supply chain networks, it is expected that the tion 5. Following this, the open issues are highlighted in Section 6, and
future smart supply chain will consists of key features such as sustain- finally, in Section 7, we have summarized this paper.
ability, traceability, and high levels of safety and effectiveness. To inte-
grate these features into smart logistics, researchers note that blockchain 2. Motivational examples to integrate 6G and blockchain in
technology is a promising approach. Using blockchain, the supply chain smart logistics
would get rid of the manual process and paperwork mandated by the
authorities. Blockchain technology in the smart logistics industry would Because of the above brief discussion of “security perspectives” and
track the location of cargo, shipping containers, and trucks in any part of “resource utilization issues” of smart logistics, we now present the con-
the world. It would further enable the sharing of data among businesses, cepts of integrating blockchain and 6G in smart logistics in more detail.
governments, and other stakeholders in a secure environment. The Blockchain technology is an incorruptible, tamper-proof, democ-
blockchain-based platform will offer potential as well as add predict- ratized, and decentralized system that records an economic transaction.
ability and visibility to the supply chain process, creating a new business Transactions added to blockchain are time-stamped, so tracing the
model. transactions and products becomes easy. The decentralized nature of
Resource utilization perspectives. With the exponential growth of blockchain provides high resilience to cyber attacks and vulnerabilities.
IoT-based smart logistic networks, the demand for wireless capacity will Blockchain enables the sharing of information using a “distributed led-
continue to be skyrocketed [10], and the emergence of the Internet of ger” that can be accessed by members participating in blockchain but
Everything (IoE) in smart systems, connecting millions of people and cannot be updated by individuals without approval from the group. This
billions of IoT nodes, demands ultra-reliable low latency communication disruptive technology is being explored among different sectors from the
(URLLC) [11]. To this end, researchers argue that 6G will be a better government to intellectual property, financial transactions, trans-
platform to connect things to things [12] and machines to machines for portation, healthcare, election security, energy, education, etc. However,
ultra-low latency communications [13]. It is arguable that why not we the logistics industry is the biggest killer application. This is because the
could be using 5G. Towards the concern, we have highlighted key rea- logistics and freight are highly sophisticated and involve multiple
sons for the integration of a smart supply chain with 6G in the following stakeholders and processes with different interests.
section. We have mentioned that there are certain limitations of 5G that It is estimated that over the period of 2021–2028, the blockchain
have been reported, which would not fully make 5G compatible or technology in the logistics market is expected to grow worth USD 1620
suitable with future smart cities or smart networks. billion and at a compound annual growth rate of 62.4% [14]. Reasons for
this rapid growth are that the world's logistics industry is becoming
complex and needs interaction and exchange of information between
various stakeholders, such as manufacturers, freight forwarders, ware-
houses, land transportation providers, government, retailers, ocean car-
riers, multiple ports, banks, and end-users. With many third-party
intermediaries, multiple data exchange and complexity can potentially
lead to unclear visibility, increased cyber attacks, and instability of the
system. Blockchain has the potential to provide opportunities and ben-
efits for every participant and process in the supply chain and logistics. It
allows the organization to trace and track the product's transaction from
origin to the destination of the goods along the whole supply chain. In-
formation and data stored in the blockchain are permanent and unal-
terable, hence, the network becomes more trustful and secure. Therefore,
blockchain has the potential to develop communities of trust, prove-
nance, collaboration, and consensus across supply chains.
It is also estimated that by 2023, due to a lack of strong use cases, 90%
of blockchain-based logistics initiatives will suffer “Blockchain fatigue”
[15]. The reason for the “Blockchain fatigue” is that most of the block-
chain projects have remained in the pilot stage due to the lack of stan-
dards, the convergence of technology immaturity, the issue of scalability
Fig. 1. A high-level view of blockchain-enabled IoT next-generation and interoperability, the overly ambitious scope, and the misunder-
architecture. standing of how technology could help the supply chain management

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

and logistics industry. Stakeholders, organizations, and industries are 3. Recently, a new network concept, i.e., 3D networking, is emerging.
trying to understand the capabilities of blockchain in logistics, how it can This is because of the integration of ground and airborne networks.
benefit their business, and what problems it can solve. 3D servers, 3D base stations, 3D network planning and design, etc.,
Tactile Internet for smart logistics. The Tactile Internet is an are very different from 2D networks. Therefore, 6G can promisingly
emerging technology that is described as a communication infrastructure provide new network optimizations for ultra-high mobility manage-
that combines low latency and high reliability. It is considered a leap ment, routing, and resource management in a 3D context [21].
forward compared to the mobile Internet and the IoT and will revolu- 4. A recent report by Smart Cities Press mentioned that by 2030, the IoT
tionize practically every aspect of society [16,17]. When the Tactile connections will cross approximately 125 billion. And to accommo-
Internet is introduced into the smart logistics and supply chain, it will date such a growing number of nodes, the network providers need the
innovate the existing communication and interaction across diverse power of 6G [22]. The end of smartphone eras to smart wearable
supply chain entities, promoting the intelligent process of smart logistics sensors, connecting robots to autonomous systems, the revolution of
and end-user quality of experience (QoE) by taking advantage of haptic sensor-based smart environments, smart logistics, etc., have all fueled
information and haptic-related applications [17]. the fire to rethink the limitations of 5G and to start working towards
Autonomous driving, vehicle platooning, remote driving, aerial 6G.
drones, virtually connected railway systems, and Unmanned Aerial Ve-
hicles (UAVs) are among the main applications of the Tactile Internet in Comparative analysis between 5G and 6G. The International
intelligent mobility systems. Self-driving capabilities in future wireless Telecommunication Union (ITU) has forecasted that by the end of 2030,
networks will require vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to- the number of mobile subscriptions worldwide will reach 17.1 billion,
infrastructure (V2I) communication systems [18]. Future Tactile which was previously 5.32 billion in 2010, and the global mobile traffic
Internet systems must meet the stringent latency, reliability, and stability volume will increase by 670 times in 2030 compared to 2010. The global
control restrictions imposed by those, as mentioned earlier, autonomous, use of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) subscriptions will also increase
intelligent, and cooperative mobility systems. exponentially. It is estimated that M2M subscriptions worldwide will
Any data processing phase, including data collection, information increase 455 times in 2030 (which is 97 billion M2M subscriptions)
filtering, data fusion, representation, modeling, processing, and inter- compared to 2010 (0.213 billion M2M subscriptions) and smartphone
pretation, might pose a security vulnerability in IoT systems, including subscriptions will increase by 7 times in 2030 compared to 2010 [23]. It
the Tactile Internet. The main security concerns may include terminal is also expected that by the end of 2030, the global mobile traffic volume
security, data processing, data transmission, and management security. will increase 80 times and the traffic volume per subscription will in-
Compared to conventional scenarios, privacy loss in wireless IoT systems crease 48 times compared to mobile traffic in 2020 (as shown in Fig. 2).
is more likely to occur because of many factors, including a higher level Owing to the limitation of service geographical area coverage, the
of interaction with smart devices and sensors, location-based services, exponential growth of mobile connectivity and M2M connectivity in the
and a low awareness level on the user-side, necessitating the develop- future, radio spectrum, and operation cost, the 5G network will reach its
ment of novel privacy-preserving mechanisms [18]. Due to the huge scale limit by the 2030 and cannot achieve anytime and anywhere high-
and spread nature of IoT networks, safeguarding the privacy of IoT data reliability, ubiquitous wireless communication service globally, and
flowing through the network and data fusion with privacy preservation high-quality services, particularly in coping with the upcoming trillion-
are important concerns. To protect the underlying personal information level connections of IoE devices in remote areas [24,25]. It is expected
in the future beyond 5G networks supporting Tactile Internet applica- that 6G will overcome the shortcomings and limitations of the current 5G
tions, it is critical to create appropriate access control and encryption technology by developing a space-air-ground-sea network, removing
mechanisms. Blockchain technology has the potential to achieve conventional cell structures, communicating at a higher frequency,
privacy-preserving capabilities in future wireless systems, as it consists of higher performance networking, and improved Quality of Service (QoS),
a number of blocks regarded as secure, public, and verified [19]. and will add capabilities of computing and Integrated AI for powerful
6G concept in the smart logistics sector. Researchers argue that 5G analysis, optimizing, learning, and intelligent recognition abilities
will be a better platform to connect things to things and machines to [25–27]. In Table 1 we have provided the comparison between 5G and
machines for ultra-low latency communications. However, there are 6G networks [24,28]. It is expected that 6G connectivity will support a
certain limitations of 5G that have been reported that would not fully speed of 1 Tbps and therefore extend the performance (increase capacity
make 5G compatible or suitable with future smart cities or smart net- and latency) of the 5G network [29]. With zero latency, a data rate of 1
works. A few of them are below. Tbps, and bandwidth up to 3 THz, 6G (or 6th generation) technology
empowered by AI to re-shape the wireless evolution from “connecting
1. The unprecedented proliferation of extended reality (XR) services things” to “connecting intelligence” will be characterized by a high de-
such as: encompassing augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (AR/ gree of heterogeneity in multiple facets [30]. 6G will further provide
MR/VR), flying vehicles, brain-computer interfaces, connected high-energy performance, energy-efficient communications, environ-
autonomous systems, etc., will deteriorate the fundamental aim of 5G mental intelligence, human-centric networks, etc.
to support short-packet, sensing-based URLLC services. To success- From the above literature, it is evident that the concept of automation
fully operate IoE services such as XR and connected autonomous is already embedded in our lives. Particularly in the smart logistics
systems, future generation wireless networks must be able to support domain, IoTs are helping in different directions, such as: tracking and
high reliability, low latency, and high data rates for heterogeneous remote monitoring of manufacturing assets, video surveillance/stream-
devices across uplink and downlink [11]. ing of manufacturing assets and processes, real-time remote control of
2. We have seen the involvement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in almost robotics, remote site safety/security, etc. In the world of “smart”, there
every sector, including the wireless domain, driven by recent break- are still many challenges due to the unprecedented growth of sensors.
throughs in reinforcement learning and deep learning. The autom- Thus, the need for 6G over 5G is evident [31].
aton with AI support, big data, the growth of smart devices, etc. It is
reported that 6G use cases for AI can autonomously sustain high Key 3. Related works and other key reasons
Performance Indicators (KPIs) and manage resources, functions, and
network control. AI-enabled 6G provides “collective network intelli- In this section, we primarily focus on the literature related to the
gence” where the network intelligence is brought down at the edge smart logistics sector. The aim is to encourage the reader in this direction
level [20]. This makes the 6G networks self-sustain rather than to emphasize the significant importance, impact, and horizon of this
self-organized networks such as 5G. sector in today's smart lives. We have provided a brief overview of

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Fig. 2. The forecasted growth of global mobile connectivity (a) traffic volume and (b) traffic volume per subscription from 2020–2030 [23].

blockchain initiatives in the smart logistics industry. And we have also of people living in the city will increase from 54% to 66% (i.e., increase of
shed some light on 5G and 6G initiatives in this domain. 2.5 billion people) by 2050 [33,34]. People's living conditions have been
It is estimated that the global smart city technology revenue will impacted because of the complex systems to deal with an increase in the
reach USD 1.7 trillion by 2028, IoT will reach USD 1.1 trillion by 2022 number of urban traffic management, food supplies, water supplies, local
and globally IoT connected devices will almost triple from 8.74 billion in waste disposal, etc. [35]. The solution to this problem is the “smart city”,
2020 to more than 25.4 billion in 2030 (as shown in Fig. 3), mobility (the which comprises investment in human and social capital, ICT infra-
largest segment of the global smart city) will reach more than USD 115 structure, high-quality life, sustainable economic growth, and political
billion by 2019, and energy and smart building (second largest smart city efficiency powered by disruptive technologies with strategic manage-
segment) will reach the amount to USD 206 billion and 183 billion, ment of natural resources through participatory government [35,36].
respectively, by 2025 [32]. The reason for this rapid growth in global When smart city infrastructure is combined with the energy Internet,
smart city technology is urbanization, and it is estimated that the number big data, and IoT, it provides effective intelligent solutions in government

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

Table 1 energy industry, smart logistics, smart building, smart grid) [39,40]. Not
Comparison between 5G and 6G networks. only will companies and their customers will benefit from the trans-
Standard/factor 5G 6G parency and fast track of transactions, but the entire ecosystem (smart
city) will also be strengthened because of automated trusted services.
Deployment 2020 Expected by 2030
Architecture Massive MIMO Intelligent surface Some of the possible use cases of blockchain technology in smart
Spectrum Sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) and above 95 GHz to 3 THz cities are universal ID cards, green energy, interoperability for smart
24.25 GHz (THz) devices, smart retail and logistics, smart mobility and energy, urban
Latency 10 ms <1 ms planning, land property and housing management, pollution manage-
Maximum spectral 30 bps/Hz (bit/s/Hz) 100 bps/Hz
efficiency
ment, key-less signature interface, prioritizing local commerce, etc. [41].
Mobility 500 km/h >1000 km/h Furthermore, the decentralized nature of blockchain technology will not
Connection density 1 million/km2 10 million/km2 only eliminate the single point of failure but also help to authenticate,
User experience data 1 Gb/s >10 Gb/s authorize, and audit data generated by devices [40]. The technology can
rate
also be used for identification purposes (such as tax data, voting, proof of
Peak data rate Upto 20 Gb/s >100 Gb/s
Traffic density 10 Tb/s/km2 >100 Tb/s/km2 citizenship, etc.) in a smart city. Using the distributed ledger technology
Energy efficiency 1000 relative to 4G 10 relative to 5G also ensures the elimination of paperwork, hence managing and reducing
Coverage percentage 70% 99% pollution and local waste [42].
Receiver sensitivity About -120 dBm <-130 dBm Another challenge is that the current city infrastructure faces a
Reliability About 99.9% >99.999%
Positioning precision Meter level Centimeter level
limited amount of information/data sharing capabilities. 4G (or LTE)
Ultra-sensitive Not feasible Feasible broadband communication does not have the bandwidth, capacity, or
application latency to carry out the transaction of information required to drive
Smart city components Separate Integrated automation. This issue can be overcome by adapting the 5G and 6G
Satellite integration No Yes
technologies.

3.1. Theoretical analysis

Oughton and Frias [43] analyzed the potential cost, coverage, and
rollout implications of 5G infrastructure in Britain, explored by extrap-
olating 4G network (4G LTE and LTE-Advanced) network from the
duration of 2020–2030 for effective policy formulation. They investi-
gated how poor connectivity has impacted certain locations in the UK for
society and businesses and how much near-ubiquitous coverage is
essential for economic development. To calculate the cost model for a
non-virtualized 5G infrastructure, the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) is
defined as Eq. (1) for the rollout for each geotype of each year (i) of the
study period of 2020–2030.

Capex5GNETi ¼ CMacro celli þ CSmall celli þ CBackhauli þ CCorei (1)

where Capex5GNETi represents the total CAPEX costs of all assets such as
CMacro celli (upgrade of macrocell), CSmall celli (deployment of greenfield
small cell), CBackhauli (fiber backhaul), and CCorei (cost of the core upgrade).
Fig. 3. The forecasted growth of global IoT connected devices over the OPEX (Operational Expenditure) and the recurrent OPEX (e.g., the
decade [32]. maintenance cost of investment assets, backhaul of small cells, etc) have
been excluded from the above value. In Ref. [44], Wisely et al. estimated
that the cost of dense urban (in central London) deployment of the eMBB
scenario of 5G network for a 100 Mbps everywhere network will be
affairs, the environment, logistics, etc. [37]. Wei et al. [16] proposed a approximately 4–5 times more than that of the cost of deploying LTE.
QoE-driven Tactile Internet architecture for smart cities that consists of To evaluate network performance, networks were dimensional to
five layers: sensing layer, transmission layer, storage layer, computing calculate the minimum number of base stations for each exploratory plot.
layer, and application layer. Furthermore, the approaches supported at The probability distribution of the Signal to Noise and Interference Ratio
each tier of this architecture adhere to low latency, high user experience (SINR) was calculated within each cell size and then converted into an
quality, and high-reliability requirements [16]. However, it may face average spectral efficiency (bps/Hz) for the cell based on the potential
many challenges, such as maintenance of equipment, high operating spectral efficiency for each SINR value (as shown in Eq. (2)).
costs, user privacy, leakage of information, poor security of IoT, denial of Z
services, upgrade difficulty, energy consumption, etc. [37]. ηISD ¼ η ðSINRÞ f ðSINRÞ dSINR (2)
Blockchain in the IoT smart city domain can help to alleviate privacy
concerns. As a simple and secured infrastructure is provided by the
blockchain to directly transfer (or communicate) the information (such Here, ISD stands for “Inter-Site Distance” (using the existing sites), and
as data, money, or a piece of property, etc.) between the two devices with ηISD represents the average spectral efficiency in a cell. Then, the average
a time-stamped contractual handshake (smart contract), this distributed cell throughput (in Mbps) was calculated as follows:
ledger technology has many benefits for the distributed IoT [38]. The X
cell
ThroughputISD ¼ 3 ηfISD BW f (3)
convergence of blockchain and IoT combined with other technologies, f
such as AI and SDN (hybrid architecture), will open unlimited possibil-
ities for smart city initiatives, involving various aspects of life, businesses, cell
where the ThroughputISD is calculated according to the bandwidth (BW) in
and industries (security, fleet management, manufacturing technologies, each carrier frequency and the factor 3 accounts for three-sector cells.
electricity, precision agriculture, supply chain, autonomous decisions, Overall, in Ref. [43], it was found that by 2027, 90% of the population

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will be covered by the 5G network; however, due to the exponential Table 2

increase in costs, it is unlikely to reach the final 10% coverage. Related literature review.
Year Author Purpose
3.2. 6G deployment initiatives
2017 Hackius and Blockchain and logistics use cases.
Petersen [55]
The deployment of 5G technology has already commenced globally. 2017 Bocek et al. [56] Blockchain-based pharmaceutical supply chain.
To sustain the upcoming competition for the future demand of wireless 2017 Polim et al. [57] The authors proposed a decentralized retailer-logistics
provider ledger.
networks, researchers have begun to conceptualize the 6G generation,
2018 Zhang et al. [58] CPS and industrial IoT integrate to create smart
aiming to lay the foundations for the stratification of the communications production-logistics systems.
services for the 2030s [45]. China launched the world's first 6G satellite 2018 Maouchi et al. For the supply chain, a blockchain-based transparent
“Tianyan-5” into orbit on November 6, 2020. This remote sensing sat- [54] and decentralized tracing solution.
ellite was jointly developed by China University of Electronic Science and 2019 Wei et al. [16] QoE-driven tactile Internet architecture for smart
cities.
Technology, Beijing WeinaXingkong Technology, and Chengdu Guoxing
2019 Chang et al. [59] Blockchain-based cross-border trade and global
Aerospace Technology with the aim of a 6G test for improved latency supply chain.
speed and signal strength with the purpose of monitoring real-time cli- 2019 Kamilaris et al. Review of blockchain in food supply chain and
matic change developments [46]. The sixth generation is envisioned as [60] agriculture.
2019 Tijan et al. [61] Review of blockchain in logistics and supply chain.
an ultra-dense heterogeneous automation network architecture
2019 Alladi et al. [62] Review of blockchain for Industrial IoT and Industry
comprising non-terrestrial (for example, drones, planes, and satellites) 4.0.
and terrestrial infrastructures (cellular networks) that would integrate
ground, air, underwater, and space networks to provide ubiquitous Note: CPS: Cyber-physical systems, IoT: Internet of Things, QoE: quality of
experience.
wireless connectivity [5].
6G infrastructure will involve technologies such as very large-scale
antenna arrays (MIMO and supermassive (SM) multiple-input), Orbital remove third-party interference while reducing operational costs. Polim
Angular Momentum (OAM) multiplexing, blockchain-based sharing, et al. discussed the problem that occurs between grocery store retailers
laser and visible-light communication (VLC), holographic beamforming and logistics providers due to the information asymmetry in a grocery
(HBF), quantum computing, molecular communications, collective/ supply chain [57].
pervasive AI, and the Internet of Bio-Nano-Things [5,24]. As 6G aims to Chang et al. [59] discussed the challenges and opportunities of
provide large coverage of urban and remote areas, it is beneficial in the blockchain technology in cross-border trade and global supply chain with
implementation of smart city infrastructure, providing real-time infor- leading pilot initiatives by Walmart, the port of Antwerp, IBM, Accenture,
mation and connecting all the sub-ecosystems (economy, living, gover- the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), etc. The trend of blockchain
nance, education, people, environment, mobility, businesses, buildings, and 6G in smart logistics is rising [60]. In this work, Kamilaris et al.
etc.). This infrastructure will generate heaps of sensitive information, and investigated the impact of blockchain, particularly in the agriculture and
hence, full security is needed to provide the trusted service. In Ref. [47], food supply chain. They have comprehensively presented the existing
the authors investigated how 6G can provide holistic management of C4 ongoing projects and initiatives. Following this, they have shed light on
(communication, computation, caching, and control) resources for a potential challenges.
single system incorporating 3D coverage. Meanwhile, there are some experiments going on in blockchain-
As the 6G network is still a concept and research work, upcoming enabled smart logistics and cities (Table 3). For example, for smart IoT,
security and privacy threats are unknown. In addition to the loss of Ali et al. [63] developed a blockchain-based behavioral verification
control over devices, breach of information security, or loss of money can system. For external devices that want to join the smart home network,
also cause the loss of property or even endanger physical safety [48]. the system demonstrated a level of confidence. To protect IoT devices
Some other challenges in 6G are massive system connectivity, high data from harmful attacks, blockchain was implemented in the IoT behavior
consumption in future tenants, security needs with scalability, and device controller system to store, track, and identify IoT devices. Again, Lee
resource restrictions [49]. There are some publications [49,50–52] that et al. [64] developed a blockchain-based smart home architecture to
have presented the role of blockchain technology in 6G networks to address the shortcomings of the present centralized smart home network
overcome the above challenges, such as intelligent service, innovative and to protect the smart gateway from future threats. They used the
air-interface design, authentication, accountability, elevated security and Ethereum blockchain to ensure that the data from smart homes were
privacy, resource management, and autonomous networks. Some of the validated and kept private. In another paper, Nadeem et al. [65] pre-
possible use cases of blockchain in 6G are smart health, smart logistics, sented a blockchain-based vehicular distributed Ad-hoc system to keep
agriculture, industry 4.0, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, pervasive vehicle drivers' personal lives private while providing on-demand and
connectivity, seamless environment monitoring, trustworthy and low-cost access. To overcome the challenges associated with the system's
decentralized 6G communication infrastructure (spectrum sharing and storage, processing, and broadband bandwidth limits, the three inter-
extreme edge), UAV, etc. [49,53]. connected components are termed vehicle Cloud, roadside Cloud, and
In some of the other existing literature on blockchain in logistics, the central Cloud which constitute a Cloud hierarchical architecture. The
work mainly focuses on improving traceability, transaction trust, disin- shared Cloud network connects cars and service providers securely via a
termediation, and visibility. Table 2 summarizes the existing literature blockchain-regulated peer-to-peer (P2P) network that can withstand
review on blockchain-enabled logistics. In 2018, Maouchi et al. high- cyberattacks and address bottlenecks in the automotive sector. Gao et al.
lighted the importance of transparency, traceability, and decentralization [66] proposed a vehicular network that incorporated blockchain, Soft-
features in the supply chain [54]. Hackius and Petersen [55] represented ware Defined Networking (SDN), and fog computing. In the suggested
four use cases of blockchain application in logistics and supply chain method, the blockchain created a trust model by deciding which mes-
management. The four use cases proposed by the authors are to ease sages to send from the source vehicle based on information gathered
paperwork processing in ocean freight, identify counterfeit products, from peers. For carpooling services, Li et al. [67] developed a
facilitate origin tracking, and operate the IoT. Bocek et al. [56] proposed blockchain-assisted vehicular fog computing system. The act of sharing a
an idea of how blockchain technology is important in the pharmaceutical single vehicle with one or more passengers traveling in the same direc-
industry, from tracing and tracking the product to managing data. The tion is known as carpooling. In such a system, malicious users or drivers
authors presented the pharmaceutical supply chain and described how can falsely report their locations. The authors used conditional privacy,
smart blockchain and IoT can be used to speed up logistics activities and one-to-many proximity matching, destination matching, and data

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

Table 3 networks in the smart city that relies on the three main technologies of
List of blockchain-based smart logistics experiments. SDN, blockchain, and Fog as well as mobile edge computing to detect
Year Author Purpose Tools attacks in the smart city.
From this comprehensive discussion, it is evident that we need
2018 Malik et al. Permissioned blockchain Hyperledger Composer,
[69] system that promotes food Caliper Blockchain and 6G in future networking for smart cities or smart logistics
provenance for the food supply domains. In the following section, we have comprehensively discussed
chain. the blockchain for smart logistics use cases.
2018 Figorilli Blockchain prototype for open Azure blockchain
et al. [70] source traceability of wood Workbench, JSON,
using RFID sensors and open MySQL server, REST API
4. Smart logistics with blockchain
source technology for
information tracing. Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger technology where the
2018 Biswas Blockchain-based scalable Hyperledger Fabric, ledger of a transaction is distributed among all participating members in
et al. [34] framework in the IoT for secure kafka-Zookeeper,
the network, over which successfully validated transactions are recorded
transactions. Configtxgen
2018 Li et al. Blockchain-based vehicular fog Miracl cryptographic chronologically, which takes the form of “blocks”. Transactions con-
[67] computing, a privacy- toolset tained within blocks could be value transactions, e.g., transport data,
preserving carpooling system. details of events in logistics, or automated actions. Before adding any
2019 Yao et al. Blockchain-based lightweight Java Runtime new information (block), members participating in the blockchain-based
[71] anonymous authentication Environment
technique for a distributed
logistic network come to an agreement or consensus, and then validated
vehicular system. information (block) is added to the chain and then broadcast across the
2019 Rathore Decentralized security Mininet, Amazon EC2, blockchain network, as shown in Fig. 4. The block is rejected if no
et al. [68] architecture for IoT networks Ethereum, Truffle consensus on the validity of the block is reached. This “mutualization of
based on blockchain and SDN development suite
data” is possible because of cryptographic techniques that make certain
(software defined networking).
2019 Gao et al. The 5G-enabled Fog vehicular MATLAB, NS-3 identical copies and permissions are established to access stored data in a
[66] network's integration of blockchain-based system [61]. Authentication of transactions is achieved
blockchain and SDN. by a “consensus mechanism”, which allows members to collaborate with
2019 Nadeem Blockchain-based distributed Not implemented each other of no particular trust. Unlike the traditional method used by
et al. [65] Cloud architecture to protect
the supply chain, which is controlled by central authorities, a
drivers' privacy.
2020 Hang et al. Blockchain-based system to Couch DB, Hyperledger blockchain-based system relies on a P2P network that is controlled by no
[72] preserve agriculture data from Fabric, REST API, JSON individual, group of people, or central authorities. Smart contracts are
the fish farm in a tamper-proof Docker engine self-executable computer codes that can be used as legal contracts when
manner.
certain conditions and logic are met, which can also be used to automate
2020 Ali et al. In a blockchain-based smart Tensorflow and Keras
[63] IoT system, behavior capture the process, which further reduces costs and time. Hence, the blockchain
and verification procedures benefits for 6G networks for smart applications can be elevated security
were established. features, intelligent resource management, and scalability. In logistics,
2020 Lee et al. A blockchain-based smart Mininet, Amazon EC2, blockchain ensures immutability, over-the-board transparency, prove-
[64] home gateway network design Ethereum Bridge, Truffle
nance, asset management, finality, and a single version of truth.
was developed to address development suite
issues with the current Another interesting feature blockchain can provide to the logistics is
centralised security network to efficiently administer the import and export licenses. Storing the
architecture. licenses would save the organizations to avoid the trouble of losing them
and would allow customs authorities to easily check the validity and
authenticity of the permits. With the help of smart contracts, automati-
audibility in the carpooling system to protect passenger privacy and se-
cally invalid permits will be canceled upon expiration of their validity
curity. In their study, Rathore et al. [68] offered a decentralized security
period, which could avoid a situation like when the Department of
architecture based on SDN paired with blockchain technology for IoT

Fig. 4. The proposed high-level system model.

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

Agriculture in the Philippines canceled all permits of import on meat increase efficiency and prevent fraud [76]. The certificates of origin are
products in 2016, after having found that old permits were being recy- the international trade documents authorized by the government or other
cled to smuggle imports. Therefore, blockchain can promisingly help to empowered organizations in a specific country to certify that the goods
verify the license, fight fraud, and smuggling cases. and packages in a particular shipment have been successfully obtained,
Furthermore, there have also been some government initiatives manufactured, and processed. This blockchain-enabled platform at-
across the world in terms of logistics and supply chains; for example, the tempts to revolutionize the way trade-related documents are handled by
government of India has begun to embrace blockchain technology as a storing information about trade transactions on a tamper-proof distrib-
means of streamlining operations and services. Its most recent experi- uted ledger system that can be authenticated and accessible by the
ment was in the domain of domestic trade. The country's Finance Min- platform's many involved parties. QR codes are used on this platform,
istry's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) began a trial allowing eCOs to be scanned with smartphones and then printed. To
electronic freight and cargo tracking system project based on blockchain avoid unauthorized duplicates, the number of printouts is limited. Hence,
technology on October 15, 2021. This aims to ensure secure container increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of eCOs verification. This
documentation and GPS-based tracking [73]. The experiment is being helps to establish self-certification through the ASEAN (Association of
carried out at the Tughlakabad Import Commissionerate's Inland Southeast Asian Nations) single window for providing a robust legal
Container Depot (ICD), which accounts for around 20% of the overall tax framework, reducing manual paperwork, and accelerating freight clear-
receipts under Delhi Customs. After an assessment of costs, time savings, ance across all 10 member countries.
and compliance, the project may be expanded across India if this test run
is successful [73]. Another example is the Australian Border Force (ABF), 5.2. Cross-sector domain application
Singapore Customs, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority of
Singapore (IMDA), as well as industry participants, which have con- A cross-sector application involves parties from various other sectors,
ducted a blockchain trial to demonstrate that trade documentation may and cooperation is often not an obvious choice between these sectors.
be issued and confirmed digitally across two independent systems [74]. There are opportunities for innovative approaches that require business
The blockchain trial was launched as part of the Australia-Singapore collaboration in one or more sectors. We are starting to see some cross-
Digital Economy Agreement, which aims to simplify cross-border trade sector innovation from transport networks to connecting utilities to
and lower transaction costs between the two countries. This is one of the water companies working with energy providers and telecommunica-
first cross-border document interoperability collaborations involving tions partnerships with electricity providers. For any international trade,
numerous government entities from two nations [74]. different processes are required and implemented in sequence. Block-
The European Blockchain Partnership (EBP) also aims to develop a chain can simultaneously implement these processes so that the involved
trusted, secure, and resilient European Blockchain Services Infrastructure parties do not have to wait for each other. Furthermore, blockchain could
(EBSI) that meets the highest standards in terms of privacy, cyber secu- coordinate processes in decentralized networks of businesses and
rity, interoperability, and policy implementation using blockchain and governments.
distributed ledger technologies [75]. In the USA, food and drug inspec- Logistics and energy are the two best examples of cross-sector ap-
tion employ blockchain to address the problem of lack of openness and plications, which can be efficiently improved with the help of blockchain.
security in health data processing [75]. The Food Standards Agency in Logistics comprises small to large enterprises and organizations. On
the UK is utilizing blockchain to track the circulation of meat to improve average, in transporting sea containers, 30 parties are involved, and to
food traceability [75]. ensure that a container is reached its destined location, a total of 200
In the following literature, some key and critical use case scenarios times data are exchanged between these parties. The efficiency can be
are discussed. improved in this process with the help of blockchain technology. Apart
from improving the efficiency and speed of exchanging information be-
5. Smart logistics use cases tween these parties, blockchain also has the potential to monitor the
operation's progress in real-time, reduce the risk of fraud, easy data
In this section, we have highlighted critical supply chain or smart verification, and shorten the cash cycle [77]. The same applies to the
logistic scenarios where blockchain and 6G can play a potential role. energy sector, which involves producers and purchasers of energy. The
problem for the energy sector is that it is challenging to make maximum
5.1. Single digital window use of sustainable energy resources, Because of that, wind farms and solar
energy applications are being closed down because grid operators are not
Australia is currently planning to create a “single digital window” able to use all stored power. Because of these inefficiencies, North
through which all Australia's international trade information and docu- America and Europe are facing a loss of billions of dollars. With the help
ments can be exchanged by multiple stakeholders and government of blockchain, organizations would coordinate the supply and demand of
agencies. A “single digital window”, also known as a “single window energy.
system”, is a facility that enables traders and businesses to submit the The port of Rotterdam with the BlockLab team is currently piloting
reports, documentation, and licenses for exportation, importation, or the “cross-sector domain” blockchain platform to facilitate the running of
transit of products to the authorized agencies through a single entry its electrical grid and logistics operations. Rotterdam is using blockchain
point. Establishing such a system will accelerate and simplify border technology to enhance its competitive position as a logistics hub, and
procedures, information flow, and formalities between government and SmartPort is also one of the main drivers behind it. Blockchain can
trade, saving time and money. As a technology choice, blockchain has the securely track the location and ownership of cargo shipments, and with
potential to upgrade the existing “single digital” system. Blockchain the help of “smart contract” it can also automate trade processes.
would streamline trade finance, customs application, insurance, etc., Moreover, blockchain would facilitate smart and decentralized grids for
reduce delays resulting from physical paperwork movement, reduce the the energy transition. The port of Rotterdam is also developing another
documentation process, and reduce processing times and costs. Moving blockchain application with the BlockLab and S&P Global Platts for
along the supply chain will also enhance the provenance, immutability, trading price incentives to maximize sustainable energy consumption.
and visibility of sensitive documents and goods in a secure environment.
In May 2018, the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce 5.3. V2V communication
(SICC) partnered with vCargo Cloud, a Singapore-based provider of
cross-border trade facilitation solutions, and initiated the world's first V2V communication is simply a wireless technology that lets vehicles
blockchain-based platform for electronic certificates of origin (eCOs) to within a few hundred meters broadcast their steering-wheel position,

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

speed, brake status, and other data to other vehicles. In logistics, V2V blockchain-based air cargo billing, costing, and reconciliation system was
communication allows multiple freight vehicles to form communication launched by Cargo Community Network (CCN) partnered with Microsoft
or platoons and also improves safety and fuel efficiency. Some organi- for promoting air cargo billing processes, real-time revenue recognition,
zations are now connecting freight vehicles, such as trucks, using direct and accelerating billing reconciliation to enhance the efficiency of cargo
V2V communications; this enables the rear vehicle to react to the front agents, airlines, and freight forwarders [79]. With Microsoft's Azure
vehicle's actions immediately. These vehicles accelerate and brake blockchain technology and built-in smart contract, freight forwarders
together by electronically coupling the trucks, and are able to operate and airlines can now update their compute charges and shipments in
safely at a closer distance. This technology is inserted into a whole fleet of real-time, and stakeholders are able to retrieve real-time information like
trucks that are taking part in shipping products where the front truck is in shipment details from the freight status update, flight manifest, and
full control of the rear truck, which is known as truck platooning. airway bill. These not only shorten the billing cycle from weeks to a few
Blockchain is ideally suited in this case, as it is decentralized in nature. hours but also enable visibility and accountability and reduce discrep-
For example, in a free-flow traffic situation, Chen et al. [29] suggested a ancies across the entire supply chain.
platoon-driving approach for autonomous cars in their paper. This Internationally, 85% of road freight goods are carried over a distance
approach enables successful path-matching vehicles to be grouped into of 150 km, and 8 billion tonnes of goods are transacted per year. To
platoons and guided by the platoon head. In addition, a platoon head facilitate trade across Asia, Singapore's CrimsonLogic launched the re-
selection method is implemented to offer vehicles an incentive to serve as gion's first cross-border permissioned blockchain network named Global
platoon heads and to keep platoons dynamically updated. Following that, eTrade Services Open Trade Blockchain (GeTS0 OTB), which is aligned
a smart contract is used to enable blockchain-based payment between the with the Southern Transport Corridor and China's Belt Road Initiative to
platoon head and platoon members, preventing false and malicious improve security, efficiency, and transparency. GeTS0 OTB enhances the
payments. transparency and trust between shippers, customers, and freight-
Also, V2V communication enables logistics and freight companies to forwarders and the security of trust-related documents such as eCOs
store and validate the data efficiently. The stored and validated data used and invoices. GeTS0 OTB has already attracted partners like Suzhou
on the blockchain can further help logistics companies and trade to Cross-E-commerce, China-ASEAN information Harbour, IBM, Korea
streamline their operations across the world effectively. Blockchain Trade Network, TIFFA EDI services, PT-EDI Indonesia, commodities In-
makes the whole process more efficient, improves traffic situations and telligence Centre, and Trade-Van Information services (Taipei, China).
also reduces fuel usage. TNO, TKI Dinalog, Rotterdam Port Authority, GeTS' OTB has conducted more than 13 million transactions, increased
logistics companies, truck companies, and the government are devel- productivity by 1.5 times, improved speed by 60%, and recorded more
oping a prototype for truck platooning for better trading and shipping. than USD 400 billion of Gross Merchandised Value (GMV) in the first half
Moreover, using blockchain as a technology will lead truck platooning of 2018.
towards autonomous shipping.
5.5. Traceable luxurious goods
5.4. Ocean freight, air freight and road freight
With significant benefits in sight, it is estimated that blockchain
The global shipping industry carries out about 90% of world trade. technology in the global supply chain market is expected to grow by
More than 50,000 merchant ships are involved globally, with world fleets approximately USD 666.61 million by 2024. The global supply chain
registered across 150 countries, transporting every kind of cargo, and it is network is massive and complex. Keeping track of the transaction history
regulated by over a million seafarers [78]. Digitalizing ocean shipping along the entire supply chain from source to destination is a challenging
will pave a way for the development of worldwide digital networks that process. If all these transactions and stakeholders are recorded on the
will offer better visibility to all stakeholders and will help shippers track blockchain, the information would be added only once through the
freight across carriers. Distributed ledger technology could potentially consensus of other members in the network. This means data in the
reduce the time and cost required for processing documentation for network become permanent and information can be easily shared among
ocean freight shipments. To unveil the potential in ocean freight, the ZIM the actors participating in the network, which help them to keep track of
ocean carrier service has joined the TradeLens, which is the joint venture products and goods. Businesses and organizations can use this recorded
between IBM and Maersk for a blockchain-based digital shipping service. information and documents to provide evidence of the legitimacy and
It uses a blockchain-based platform for the single version of truth be- authenticity of products such as luxury goods like diamonds, fine arts, or
tween all stakeholders without compromising confidentiality and privacy pharmaceutical products. Hence, this emerging technology is a useful
to enable trust between multiple parties, from carriers to the freight innovation for precious goods, as it provides a secure environment.
forwarder, provides certainty through real-time access to shipping doc- For example, established in 2015, Everledger is the blockchain plat-
uments and information, and moreover improves the business model. form for asset tracking companies and supply chains to store records of
Maersk also reported that by using the TradeLens platform, the trans- valuable assets like diamonds and art. It tracks diamonds from the mine
action time was reduced by 40% and the cost was reduced by thousands to the gem cutter, through manufacturers and distributors to the retailer,
of dollars. In LogChain, an Israeli-based blockchain start-up has suc- and finally to the buyers or consumers. It has replaced the paper certi-
cessfully established its full cycle of international maritime shipment fication process with a blockchain ledger. The raw material is assigned a
from Belgium to Israel, shipping beverages. LogChain handles the whole serial number, and every information and measurement of a diamond is
supply chain transition, including letters of credit and electronic bills of entered into the digital ledger, throughout the material's transformation
lading. Furthermore, it was reported that LogChain has reduced the time and every time the material changes its place. Data entered in a block-
approximately by two weeks of documentation and shipment cost by 7% chain system for each step of the process are permanent and also
to 9%. In 2018, Maersk also collaborated with EY and Guardtime to extremely secure. Since 2015, Everledger has provided transparency and
launch the world's first distributed ledger technology platform for provenance to more than 2 million diamonds, and approximately
transferring marine insurance named “Insurwave” and now commer- recorded 100,000 diamonds a month.
cially used by AP Moller-Maersk, XL Catlin, Willis Towers Watson, and As Everledger stores digital certificates of the diamond on the
MS Amlin. blockchain, network participants such as merchants, banks, and insurers
Air freight involves many stakeholders along the entire supply chain, can verify the legitimacy of an asset (well in this case, a diamond). Now, a
such as air cargo costing, billing, etc., which use manpower-intensive, legit person will buy a diamond, insure it, and register it on the Ever-
manual paperwork and are prone to error processes. In Singapore at ledger. Next, this person loses the diamond that he/she reports as stolen.
the International Air Transport Association World Cargo Symposium, a After that, the insurance company reimburses her for the loss. Finally, the

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

thief who stole the asset will try to sell the stolen diamond to some manufacturer blockchain system in logistics.
jeweller. This jeweller will ask Everledger for confirmation and learn that There are several prerequisites for a gateway protocol in terms of
it's a stolen diamond. The stolen diamond is reported to the insurance security, such as the gateway identification key-pair used to engage with
company, which takes control of it. other peer gateways externally must be distinct from the transaction
Although some key subdomains of smart logistics and supply chains signing key-pair used for its ledger internally. Secondly, all communi-
are discussed where blockchain can potentially help, we identify critical cations between gateways must take place via a secure channel, which
issues that need to be addressed before blockchain's deployment in these must be established using standard secure channel establishment pro-
areas. tocols like IPsec, SSL/TLS, and so on [81]. Furthermore, during the
transportation of an asset, a crash of one gateway (or both) must not
6. Open issues result in the loss or leaking of asset or entity information (e.g., originator
and beneficiary identities). A gateway must always be placed in a safe
Blockchain has the potential to disrupt every area of logistics, creating state via the gateway recovery mechanism [81].
new business models through improving operational efficiency, but there Scalability: Regardless of the current size of the blockchain, trans-
are three prime challenges to blockchain implementation in smart lo- action rate, and trade's expanding demand, blockchain in logistics sys-
gistics has been identified. These challenges need to be overcome before tems will undergo the problem of scalability. Across the supply chain,
blockchain can reach widespread adoption. many transactions process simultaneously, and these transactions create
Interoperability: Processes in international and cross-border trade numerous events, such as sensor reading, shipment tracking, route cre-
are not tightly synchronized as logistics will involve numerous ation, invoice delivery, customs clearance, stock inbound, freight tran-
blockchain-based platforms for different technical uses from finance to sition, order creation, payments, advance shipping notice, etc. Although
logistics with different algorithms. Currently, no standard exists to allow some events that occurred are not relevant, they still need to be tackled so
interaction between these platforms. The issue of interoperability raises that the overall system can handle the throughput throughout the cycle,
two questions: proportioning the resources among the stakeholders' involvement level
in the supply chain. There is also a problem of high energy consumption
1. how will various blockchain-based platforms in smart logistics interact with and computing power in some large-scale logistics transactions, which
each other? and further leads to high latency. This problem of scalability can be solved by
2. how will information exchanged between involving parties be understood an overlay network, which is a computer virtual network that is built on
by them? another physical network with the ability to self-organize [83].
Tunneling is the essential concept of overlay networks; for example,
These issues can be addressed by introducing gateways to the packets in the network are collected and encapsulated before being
blockchain network connecting different areas of logistics. Now, a routed to their actual destination. An overlay network is a common type
blockchain gateway refers to a computer system in a blockchain network of network that is used to distribute key value stores and exchange to-
that facilitates the flow of virtual assets into and out of the blockchain pology between agents like Zookeeper, Etcd, and Consul. Extended vir-
network [80]. A gateway, as a node in the blockchain network, has tual network IDs are also introduced by such protocols; for example, the
read/write access to the blockchain's shared ledger and can participate in VXLAN Network ID (VNI) is 24-bit long, and the Virtual eXtensible LAN
the blockchain's consensus mechanism. When communicating with its (VXLAN) supports over 16 million virtual networks [84]. In Ref. [67], the
blockchain, a gateway is said to be facing interiorly, and when dealing authors proposed Intelligent Transportation Security (ITS) with a
with a remote peer gateway belonging to a separate or different block- blockchain overlay network to solve the issue of security and scalability.
chain network, it is said to be facing exteriorly [81]. Two peer gateways This architecture consists of three layers: the ITS network infrastructure
execute a gateway protocol that implements the essential processes for layer, the cloud computing and service provisioning layer, and the
moving a virtual asset from one blockchain to another through the blockchain overlay layer [67]. First, RSUs (Road Side Units), 4G and 5G
mediation of the gateways. By definition, a gateway belongs to only one cellular network base stations, and Internet gateways and routers
blockchain network, and it must be traceable and authenticable to en- comprise the ITS network infrastructure layer. This layer also includes
tities in that blockchain network when looking inward. A gateway must vehicles that interact with an ITS network. Second, the service provi-
have at least one blockchain transaction signing a public/private key pair sioning layer is composed of servers from ITS operators and third-party
for interior interactions. While interacting with external peer gateways, a service providers, such as those providing cloud computing and ser-
gateway must have a gateway identity public/private key-pair when vices. Now, this blockchain overlay layer (a virtual network) is made up
facing exteriorly. Peer gateways can identify and authenticate the of some vehicles that want to join blockchain and employ
gateway using this key pair. For example, Accenture introduces the security-related services, as well as nodes from the ITS infrastructure and
“interoperability nodes” that connect the targeted blockchain system to service provisioning layer.
enable synchronization. To all in-scope distributed ledger technology In logistics, an overlay network can be used to distribute the key-
systems, an interoperability node is provided with the appropriate value stores to exchange the data on blockchain topology between
identity and access control capabilities [82]. Fig. 5 describes the inter- stakeholders such as manufacturers, freight, producers, etc. Fig. 6 de-
operability node connecting the freight blockchain system and scribes an overlay virtual network for the manufacturer and freight

Fig. 5. The interoperability node connecting the freight blockchain system.

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

network resource management, such as spectrum sharing, power distri-

bution, and computational resource distribution, as the major issue [88].
This issue can be tackled by using blockchain technology in the 6G
network by integrating smart contracts between operators and users,
which will enable the network to manage resource utilization, energy
trading, monitoring, and sharing efficiently [89,90]. In the same way,
energy management and spectrum management problems can be solved
by blockchain. However, scalability will remain an open challenge for
researchers.
The convergence of technologies: To build trust and collaboration
between businesses and stakeholders in logistics, blockchain technology
is likely to be used with the IoT, and AI. Though the convergence of these
technologies will speed up and improve time-consuming and sophisti-
cated processes of shipping and freight, there is a chance that cyber at-
tackers will find human or computer vulnerabilities in any of these layers
of technology as an incentive for their own malicious benefits. To tackle
the security issue in such a case, Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Fig. 6. Overlay network for blockchain. technology can be handy (Fig. 7). Blockchain-enabled software defining
networking will support real-time application performance, and all data
can be analyzed with the SDN controller [91]. Hence, any kind of mali-
network. An overlay network with a blockchain-based platform will cious data or file injected by cyber attackers can be filtered out and
provide the trade with a proper network and will carry out preventive prevented from network crashes. The main role of using SDN with
action by recreating a proper network if a node in blockchain fails to form blockchain is to deploy protection for the entire network from security
for any specific reason. One issue here is that the physical network and threats and mitigate network attacks such as DDoS/DoS attacks, cache
the virtual network are two separate entities with separate management poising/ARP spoofing, and other network attacks [92]. Additionally, to
policies, control points, and provisioning. We need a management system provide further protection to the blockchain system, it can utilize SDN
that adapts and controls overlay network behavior so that specific de- functionalities by implementing a firewall for blockchain-based appli-
mands of users are met as well as those of service providers. cations by filtering out network traffic [92]. The SDN can communicate
Another scalability issue for the blockchain-enabled 5G and 6G net- with the nodes in the blockchain, which it guards to determine if the
works is that the 5G and 6G networks' targeted end-to-end latency for origin of the traffic is legitimate or not, and the packets from the ille-
payload and carried data is 10 ms and sub 1 ms, respectively. This gitimate source are intercepted, protecting the blockchain from being
requirement implies that configuration and setup transactions at a very harmed.
high throughput rate [85], while current public blockchain networks Real-time data acquisition, data processing and data analytics.
(such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) can handle only 10–14 Transactions per The data collected by IoT sensors are processed locally or at the data
Second (TPS), and private blockchains can transact up to 3000 to 20,000 center level to perform real-time tasks such as anomaly detection,
TPS [86]. Therefore, an upgrade of the blockchain architecture, an in- detection of operational faults in sensors, etc. for the global monitoring
crease in block size, and sharding techniques are being researched to and managing of the transportation system. Since smart devices are in-
enhance the capacity to co-op with the future demand [85]. Nonetheless, tegrated and deployed in multi-technology environments such as IEEE
blockchain is a better option for the complex transactions initiated by the 802.11, LTE-V, or 5G, the flow optimization for multi-RAT connections
next-generation wireless systems [87]. In the future, there will be de- and context-aware resource allocation subject to high-rate, low-latency,
mand for massive connectivity in 6G technology which will initiate and high-reliability requirements are critical challenges in smart network

Fig. 7. The blockchain-SDN network in smart logistics. SDN: software defined networking.

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A. Vaghani et al. Blockchain: Research and Applications 3 (2022) 100082

performance. Thus, efficient resource allocation techniques have to be Declaration of competing interest
conceived to meet next-generation networking requirements.
Safety and security: Although blockchain offers numerous benefits The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
to the logistics sector, it also poses a number of concerns for their safety, interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
security, reliability, and privacy due to its heavy reliance on its charac- the work reported in this paper.
teristics. Furthermore, because blockchain applications will be connected
with other stakeholders and supply chain entities, this connectivity must References
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