From EDI to Blockchain: A Bibliometric Analysis of Digitalization in Supply Chains

Abstract

The integration of digital technologies into business processes has a history of more than half a century. With the integration of technologies in the supply chain, businesses began benefiting from the possibilities as early as the 1970s. The emergence of ERP in the 1990s represents the beginning of a new era of the supply chain. Increasing competition and sustainability pressure have done businesses far from being sufficient on their own to respond to environmental conditions. This situation has made it necessary for companies to establish efficient supply chains. One of the main elements that ensure the efficiency of supply chains is that the flows in the supply chain can be monitored in real-time, and the problems that may arise can be intervened on time. Nowadays, businesses can obtain large amounts of data by integrating the Internet of Things technology into their business processes, can store and transfer this data more effectively with cloud computing technology, and can provide useful outputs for business goals with big data analytics. Especially in the last few years, blockchain opportunities have become more prominent. Businesses have begun to look for ways to gain gains by integrating this technology into the supply chain. In this study, the current academic situation in supply chain management has been revealed by the bibliometric analysis of studies published on the Web of Science. Important actors in the field were identified, and their primary contributions to the field were revealed. Content analysis of the terms used in related studies and the development and interactions of the concepts over time are among the research findings. Through this study, both a general phenomenon of the field and various predictions regarding the future directions it will take are provided.