Addressing Engineering Change Management in Industry 4.0 using Blockchain Technology

Engineering Change Management (ECM) is critical for ensuring that frequent product and process modifications in modern supply chains do not erode cost, quality, and delivery performance. However, ECM in practice is often hampered by fragmented information flows, limited transparency between stakeholders, and weak traceability of decisions and product states, especially in globally distributed Industry 4.0 environments. This research investigates how blockchain technology can support ECM by enabling secure, transparent, and timely exchange of engineering and logistical information. First, an extensive literature review is conducted to synthesise ECM challenges and relevant Industry 4.0 and blockchain capabilities. Building on this, a comparison framework is developed that models information flows in a typical supply chain with and without blockchain support, using a cloud-based distributed ledger as the core enabler. The framework is complemented with multiple industrial case studies (BMW, KUKA, RHI Magnesita–Gerdau, Samsung) to illustrate concrete design patterns for blockchain-enabled traceability, asset tracking, and data protection. Finally, an online survey of industrial practitioners is carried out to assess current familiarity with blockchain, frequency of ECM, typical communication failures, and existing response strategies. The combined findings indicate that while practical adoption of blockchain in ECM is still limited, its properties of immutability, shared visibility, and secure access control can alleviate key ECM pain points related to communication delays, error propagation, and late detection of complexity. At the same time, technical and organisational barriers such as scalability, energy consumption, and lack of expertise constrain current deployment. Overall, the study positions blockchain not as a universal solution but a targeted enabler. The paper concludes with implications for researchers and practitioners and outlines a roadmap for future empirical studies on blockchain-enabled ECM in Industry 4.0 supply chains.