Harnessing Smart Integration: Blockchain-Enabled B2C Reverse Supply Chain

B2C cross-border e-commerce witnessed an exponential growth across the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) region especially during the pandemic time. Though, cross-border e-commerce is high in this region, the customer hesitates to fill a cart from overseas company due to the fear of counterfeit/ fake products as well as hassle of returning the product. To the retailer the challenges is multiplied manifold. The trickiest barrier is complying with customs documentation for reversal, and collaboration with the intermediaries for reclamation. The return of goods faces challenges due to lack of collaborative and integrated technology linkage between the multiple partners participating in the operation. Additionally, the customer does not have a visibility and verification of the source from where the product is received. Blockchain technology is a game-changing technology to solve product traceability, identify fraudulent transactions, and provide digitized transaction details to improve customer experience. The paper aims to analyze the challenges in operational processing the return of goods for the B2C e-commerce transaction. Based on the literature review, pain points in cross-border e-returns were identified. To explore the operational bottlenecks, conducted focus group interview with a small cohort of 45 logistics managers from companies in UAE. A conceptual framework is proposed based on Blockchain technology that would enhance interoperability and digital document transactions, enabling product traceability and transparency. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical literature on cross-border e-commerce, reverse supply chain management, document reversal, re-export issues, and how Blockchain technology's deployment will help the companies overcome the challenges and sustain in a fiercely competitive environment. The survey was conducted with a small sample size, future research can be conducted with a larger sample size and other countries to widen the knowledge of cross-border issues. The conceptual model needs further industrial validation from the practitioners before using it at a large scale to facilitate information collaboration and integration between the key entities in the B2C cross-border reverse supply chain operation.