Industry 4.0 and blockchain: On the use of distributed ledgers for supply chain management

Since the birth of Bitcoin, in early 2009, an explosion of researches and investments were unleashed towards a new disruptive technology called blockchain. This new technology, that consists in a sequence of blocks cryptographically linked one to each other, provides a fully auditable and immutable ledger, where data, once stored, cannot be modified. The blockchain aims to revolutionize the interaction between people and machines in an untrusted distributed environment without the need of a central trusted authority. From the birth of Bitcoin, most applications built on top of such technology were mainly in the FinTech sector, regarding exchange of cryptocurrencies, in the so-called permissionless blockchain network. However, in recent years, researchers and companies studied the feasibility of adopting blockchain-based solutions also in different sectors, from supply chain management systems to data provenance and data reliability. In this context were born the first permissioned blockchains, where members are known, and they must own a digital identity in order to join the network. This thesis analyzes the adoption of a blockchain-based solution in the context of supply chain for a GE Avio Aero use case in the Industry 4.0 framework. The aim is to create a system where data are securely stored, tamper-proof and easily auditable in order to eliminate paper-based documents and to make the production environment more efficient. For the purpose of this thesis a SWOT matrix analysis has been performed in order to study the feasibility and the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a blockchain-based solution for the use case provided. In addition, a proof of concept has been developed with the use of Hyperledger Fabric for building the blockchain network and ExpressJS for developing a REST web server in order to interact with the underlying network.