Purpose – The complexity and resulting opacity of TC supply chains, and the fragmentation of approaches to traceability to address these issues, revealed the necessity of collaboration for traceability in TC supply chains. Although the challenges have been explored in literature and practice, it has been left unstudied how collaboration can overcome these challenges. Further, current literature is limited to focus on buyer-supplier relationships rather than the inclusion of external supply chain (SC) actors despite their important role in the implementation of SC traceability. Acknowledging the need for broadening the perspective from dyad to network level, the purpose of this study is to examine collaborative relationships for implementing traceability in the extended TC supply chain network, and thus identify collaborative challenges and possible improvement opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – This research was based on a multiple case study method of three relationship types considering primary data from semi-structured interviews and documentary secondary data related to the studied organizations. While embracing an abductive approach by extending the AARI framework by Welch and Wilkinson (2002) to the context of traceability in TC supply chains, the data analysis followed the Grounded Theory methodology of open, axial and selective coding. The findings of the dyadic relationships were discussed by their substance layers and cross-case comparison. Findings – Through the extended model, the findings shed light on the role of collaborative relationships in the implementation of SC traceability and their interconnectedness on the network level. Based on developing preconditions for dyadic relationships, deductions for the network level could be made. Further, the essential role of external SC actors for the implementation of traceability in the TC supply chain network indicated the necessity of considering collaboration with the extended network. Consequently, possible improvement opportunities for implementing traceability through better collaborative relationships in the extended TC supply chain network could be detected. Originality/Value – This study adds to the theory of network relationships and literature of traceability in TC supply chains by focusing on collaboration in the extended network. It creates new insights by including the ideological dimension. By considering possible chain dependencies of relationships and the interrelation of schema couplings with resource ties and activity links, it can offer practitioners a better understanding of the network behavior and possible challenges in relationships. The proposed set of preconditions can provide inspiration and a change in perspective for successfully collaborating to implement traceability in TC supply chain networks.

The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries worldwide with vast impacts on all three pillars of sustainability – ecology, society and economy. Recently there has been increased interest in improving sustainable practices in the clothing industry. These practices look to tackle the negative impacts from emissions, pollution and synthetic or man-madematerials (i.e. those made from fossil fuels). Popular approaches are transparency, supply chain traceability and product certifications. This research aims to evaluate these different approaches with a multi-criteria analysis using a developed evaluation framework and applying the framework at a case study at ASKET AB, a menswear brand from Sweden. Research included seven different certifications common in the clothing industry. Due to a different focus not on a product but rather on a company management level, one of the certifications is excluded in the evaluation process. To ensure the relevance of the framework, the common approaches in sustainability research of the Planetary Boundaries and the Doughnut Economy are combined with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Thus, the evaluation framework covers an environmental as well as a social dimension, including 18 impact categories in total. The evaluation results in a score for each certification according to the ranking per impact category for each certification. The results showed a clear advantage for certifications covering impact categories from the environmental as well as the social dimension. The results from the evaluation are accompanied by semi-structured interviews with seven experts from within the apparel and sustainability industry. The interviews support most of the findings from the literature research and evaluation. The combination of evaluation and interviews concludes that there is a necessity to take different factors into account before choosing a certain certifications scheme. There is no one fits all approach due to the fact that each organisation adopts its own sustainability practices. Key factors to take into consideration include values and focus areas of the company as well as the rigour of the certification. Consequently, depending on the circumstances, a combination of different certifications and ecolabels might be the best approach. The results are applied to a case study at ASKET AB, a Stockholm-based menswear brand focussing on high-quality and timeless wardrobe essentials. Applicability of different traceability approaches and certifications for ASKET considered different factors including limited monetary and personnel resources of a small- to medium-sized enterprise to a micro-company. Furthermore, a comparison to other approaches of supply chain traceability and transparent communication are taken into account in the assessment. Overall, a different focus depending on the supply chain processes is the most suitable option for ASKET since a full certification of the company, or specific products are not applicable at the current stage of the company. / Textilindustrin är en av världens mest förorenande industrier med stor påverkan på alla tre delar inom hållbarhet – ekologiskt, social och ekonomist. På senare tid har intresset för mer hållbara metoder inom klädindustrin ökat. Målet med dessa metoder är att minska de negativa effekterna från utsläpp, föroreningar samt material från fossila källor. Populära tillvägagångssätt inkluderar transparens, spårbarhet i leverantörskedjan och produktcertifiering. Denna studie utvärderar dessa tillvägagångssätt via en multikriterieanalys utförd med ett framtaget utvärderingsramverk. Studien innehåller sju, för klädindustrin, vanliga certifieringar varav en av dessa exkluderades i utvärderingsprocessen på grund av annat fokus. Ramverkets relevans säkerställs genom att kombinera de vanligaste metoderna i hållbarhetsforskning inom Planetary Boundaries och Doughnut Economy med FN:s mål för hållbarutveckling (FN:s SDGs). Därmed täcker utvärderingsramen såväl miljö- som sociala aspekter innehållandes 18 olika påverkningsbara kategorier. Utvärderingen ger varje certifiering en poäng enligt ranking per påverkningsbar kategori. Certifieringar innehållandes miljö- och sociala aspekter fick bästresultat. Utvärderingsresultaten åtföljdes av semistrukterande intervjuer med sju experter som stöder mestadels av litteraturforskningen och utvärderingen. Utvärderings- och intervjuresultaten visar vikten av att ta olika faktorer i beaktning innan ett certifieringsschema väljs. Dessa inkluderar företagsvärden, fokusområden samt kriteriets strikthet. Det existerar således ingen universell metod och i vissa fall kan en kombination av olika certifieringar och ekomärkningar vara den bästa metoden. Resultaten applicerades på en fallstudie hos ASKET AB, ett Stockholmsbaserat herrklädesmärke med fokus på högkvalitativa och tidlösa ”wardrobe essentials” (garderobsnödvändigheter). Tillämpbarheten av olika spårbarhetsmetoder och certifieringar för ASKET innehöll faktorer så som begränsade monetära- och personalresurser för ett litet till medelstort bolag till ett mikroföretag. I bedömningen beaktas även en jämförelse av andra tillvägagångssätt för spårbarhet i leveranskejdan och kommunikationstransparens. Sammanfattningsvis ärolika fokus beroende på leveranskedjeproncessen mest användbar för ASKET eftersom en fullständig certifiering av företaget eller en specifik produkt i nuläget inte är applicerbar.

Manufacturers and suppliers in the tech industry, trading and utilizing minerals, are often unable to conduct substantial supply chain due diligence, due to reasons such as lack of competence, the scattered spread of information and fluid nature of their supply chains. Declaring whether a product has been responsibly sourced, or whether it contains conflict minerals or not, is almost impossible. This study is an exploration of the potential role of blockchain in mineral supply chain management, as a supplementary tool for carrying out due diligence. Well-performed supply chain due diligence should demand continuous status records of various measures of social sustainability, identifying impacts on human well-being. So, how may a blockchain solution for traceability in a mineral supply chain contribute towards ensuring responsible sourcing? Blockchain provides traceability of transactions through its immutable chain structure, and knowing an asset’s origin is vital in order to carry out supply chain due diligence. While the blockchain network has the potential to provide information on the digitally registered flow of an asset, the validity of the information of the physical and social qualities of the asset remains dependent on the actor adding it to the blockchain, leading to an inherent problem regarding the interface between the digital and the physical world, in application of blockchain in supply chains. Through a background study and interviews with researchers and professionals, this study proposes a set of requirements to take into account while addressing responsible sourcing via a blockchain solution. The study finds that a blockchain alone cannot ensure responsible sourcing, and further provides insight into the challenges and opportunities present in the industry and discusses the suitability of potential solutions. / Tillverkare och leverantörer inom techindustrin, som handlar med och drar nytta utav mineraler, är ofta oförmögna att genomföra djupgående företagsgranskningar i sina logistikkedjor, på grund av exempelvis kompetensbrist, vida utspridd information och kedjornas flytande natur. Att säkerställa ifall en produkt har utvunnits på ett hållbart sätt eller huruvida den innehåller konfliktmineraler är i det närmaste omöjligt. Denna studie utforskar blockkedjeteknikens potentiella roll i leverantörskedjor för mineraler, som ett kompletterande verktyg för att genomföra företagsgranskningar. Välgenomförda granskningar bör inkludera fortlöpande statusprotokoll för olika åtgärder gällande social hållbarhet, som identifierar utvinningens påverkan på mänskligt välmående. Så, hur kan en blockkedjelösning för spårbarhet i en leverantörskedja för mineraler bidra till att säkerställa hållbar utvinning? En blockkedja möjliggör spårbarhet av transaktioner genom sin oföränderliga kedjestruktur; samtidigt är kännedom om ursprunget hos en resurs avgörande för att genomföra företagsgranskningar i logistikkedjor. Ett blockkedjenätverk har potential att tillhandahålla information gällande det digitalt registrerade flödet hos en resurs, men informationens validitet gällande dess fysiska och sociala kvaliteter är fortsatt beroende av aktören som registrerar resursen på blockkedjan, vilket leder till ett ofrånkomligt problem gällande gränssnittet mellan den digitala och fysiska världen vid applicering av blockkedjor i leverantörskedjor. Utifrån en litteraturgenomgång och intervjuer med forskare och professionella, så föreslås i denna studie en kravlista att ta hänsyn till ifall blockkedjelösningar ska användas för att understödja hållbar utvinning. Studien visar att en blockkedja på egen hand ej kan säkerställa hållbar utvinning och ger vidare insikt i utmaningar och möjligheter inom industrin, samt diskuterar lämpligheten för potentiella blockkedjelösningar i dessa sammanhang.

Falsified and substandard drugs are classified as a global problem and continue to increase as manufacturing becomes globalized and the complexity of distribution systems expands. The falsified and substandard drugs come with major health risks and socioeconomic consequences. The pharmaceutical supply chain is handled by several parties, making it harder to detect when falsified and substandard drugs end up in distribution. Since the rise of the cryptocurrency bitcoin, blockchain technology has been recognized for its transparency and security. Previous research describes blockchain as a decentralized database structure that preserves a chronological chain of blocks where each block contains a registered valid network activity verified by consensus of the participants in the network. The purpose of this study is to create a broader understanding of how blockchain can improve the transparency and traceability of the pharmaceutical supply chain in order to reduce the incidence of falsified and substandard drugs. The study is based on a qualitative method in the form of five semi-structured interviews with representatives from the pharmaceutical industry and two blockchain companies. In the study's discussion section, the literature study is set against the collected empirical material. Two tables also illustrate how the pharmaceutical industry is working with traceability and what effects blockchain can provide a supply chain. Finally, the study notes that regulations on the pharmaceutical industry primarily control which database structure is implemented on the supply chain. It is also stated that blockchain has characteristics that can improve transparency and traceability of a supply chain, but the technology is to some extent limited mainly by its large need for capacity

<div>Graph-structured data is pervasive. Modeling large-scale network-structured datasets require graph processing and management systems such as graph databases. Further, the analysis of graph-structured data often necessitates bulk downloads/uploads from/to the cloud or edge nodes. Unfortunately, experience has shown that malicious actors can compromise the confidentiality of highly-sensitive data stored in the cloud or shared nodes, even in an encrypted form. For particular use cases —multi-modal knowledge graphs, electronic health records, finance— network-structured datasets can be highly sensitive and require auditability, authentication, integrity protection, and privacy-preserving computation in a controlled and trusted environment, i.e., the traditional cloud computation is not suitable for these use cases. Similarly, many modern applications utilize a "shared, replicated database" approach to provide accountability and traceability. Those applications often suffer from significant privacy issues because every node in the network can access a copy of relevant contract code and data to guarantee the integrity of transactions and reach consensus, even in the presence of malicious actors.</div><div><br></div><div>This dissertation proposes breaking from the traditional cloud computation model, and instead ship certified pre-approved trusted code closer to the data to protect graph-structured data confidentiality. Further, our technique runs in a controlled environment in a trusted data owner node and provides proof of correct code execution. This computation can be audited in the future and provides the building block to automate a variety of real use cases that require preserving data ownership. This project utilizes trusted execution environments (TEEs) but does not rely solely on TEE's architecture to provide privacy for data and code. We thoughtfully examine the drawbacks of using trusted execution environments in cloud environments. Similarly, we analyze the privacy challenges exposed by the use of blockchain technologies to provide accountability and traceability.</div><div><br></div><div>First, we propose AGAPECert, an Auditable, Generalized, Automated, Privacy-Enabling, Certification framework capable of performing auditable computation on private graph-structured data and reporting real-time aggregate certification status without disclosing underlying private graph-structured data. AGAPECert utilizes a novel mix of trusted execution environments, blockchain technologies, and a real-time graph-based API standard to provide automated, oblivious, and auditable certification. This dissertation includes the invention of two core concepts that provide accountability, data provenance, and automation for the certification process: Oblivious Smart Contracts and Private Automated Certifications. Second, we contribute an auditable and integrity-preserving graph processing model called AuditGraph.io. AuditGraph.io utilizes a unique block-based layout and a multi-modal knowledge graph, potentially improving access locality, encryption, and integrity of highly-sensitive graph-structured data. Third, we contribute a unique data store and compute engine that facilitates the analysis and presentation of graph-structured data, i.e., TruenoDB. TruenoDB offers better throughput than the state-of-the-art. Finally, this dissertation proposes integrity-preserving streaming frameworks at the edge of the network with a personalized graph-based object lookup.</div>