A dual-contract architecture with role-based access control for supply chain traceability and accountability

Blockchain technology, a key component of Industry 4.0, offers significant benefits to manufacturing and supply chains, including enhanced security, transparency, and traceability. In supply chain management, these technologies support real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, automated quality control, and end-to-end traceability, transforming conventional logistics and operational workflows. However, while the modern supply chain ecosystem facilitates global trade, it remains susceptible to challenges such as a lack of transparency, compromised data integrity, and regulatory non-compliance. Even minor vulnerabilities can result in fraud, business disruptions, and loss of visibility. The increase in these risks necessitates secure, intelligent, responsible frameworks that align with Industry 4.0 standards. To address these challenges, this work introduces a novel dual-contract-based architecture that is integrated with role-based strategies. This approach focuses on enhancing traceability, accountability, and interoperability in unified supply inspection chains. In addition, three smart contract (SC) optimization mechanisms: separation of logic ownership (SLO), resource isolation control (RIC), DUal-layer VALidation (DUAL), are compared to analyze the performance. Key performance metrics such as average latency, packet size, computational overhead, gas fees, transaction costs, and execution costs are considered, alongside a rank-based accountability scoring system for inspection teams. The performance analysis shows that the DUAL optimization mechanism outperforms in reducing packet size, gas fees, execution costs, and transaction costs, though it comes with a higher traceability latency due to enhanced security measures implemented. Overall, the RIC mechanism provides a balance across all performance indicators. In addition, the proposed role-based ranking model provides a more effective, transparent, and reliable inspection process in supply chain management environments by employing unified-contract-based systems.