A Framework of a Blockchain-Supported Remanufacturing Trading Platform through Gap Analysis

Abstract

Considering that consumers are more willing to buy products online, companies are increasingly selling remanufactured products online through e-commerce platforms. Notwithstanding the high attention it elicits from researchers and companies, the current study on the remanufacturing trading platform is still in its infancy. Thus, we investigate 20 remanufacturing trading platforms and make a gap analysis among them in terms of (i) business model, (ii) product display, (iii) delivery products, (iv) quality assurance and after-sales service, (v) product review and star rate, and (vi) transaction and payment. On this basis, we analyze features for the development of remanufacturing trading platforms and propose six key applications aimed at filling the identified gaps. The consortium blockchain has the characteristics of security and transparency, high credibility, traceability and unfalsifiability, low cost, and strong scalability, which can provide effective support for the six key applications. Then, we construct the technical framework and the model of a consortium blockchain-supported remanufacturing trading platform. Further, we analyze the coupling mechanism between the consortium blockchain and the remanufacturing trading platform to explain how the remanufacturing trading platform supported by the consortium blockchain achieves the development characteristics. This study provides important guidance for the development, construction, and operation management of remanufacturing trading platforms.

1. Introduction

Considering the economic development and increasing pressures of environmental protection, the forces of urban sustainable development are sweeping across the world. In order to promote urban sustainable development, it is necessary to maintain the balance between green and economy in urban development. Due to the dual needs of sustainable development and economic development, remanufacturing has been paid increasing attention. Remanufacturing can save energy by 60%, save material by 70%, and reduce air pollutant emissions by more than 80%, compared with manufacturing a new one [1]. Since remanufactured product trading is one of the important links in the remanufacturing process, establishing an efficient trading platform plays a vital role in the development of remanufacturing.

Notwithstanding the interest it elicits from researchers and companies, academic research in remanufacturing trading platforms is still in its infancy. Research addressing the trading platform of remanufactured products has focused exclusively on marketing strategy and product service. Fabrizio et al. [2] investigated information and reputation mechanisms in auctions of remanufactured goods and found that the reputation mechanisms operating for the goods of different values are different. João et al. [3] investigated the factors that influence the price difference between used, remanufactured, and new iPods and confirmed that remanufactured products are sold at a discount relative to new products. Xun et al. [4] investigated the influence of e-service offerings in four stages of online transaction on the customers’ purchase intention of remanufactured products in auctions and fixed-price transactions and indicated that e-service offerings in the information stage have the greatest impact on the customers’ willingness to pay in the two types of transactions. Kaiying et al. [5] considered the enterprises that sell new products and remanufactured products online under the background of carbon tax policy and studied the optimal online return strategy for remanufactured products. Yu et al. [6] examined the environmental and economic impacts of product-service systems in a highly competitive remanufacturing market and developed a two-phase programming model to capture the key elements that drive the original equipment manufacturer’s strategy choice. Zhu et al. [7] studied the two-sided pricing structure of remanufacturing trading platforms and indicated that the increased service differentiation would increase the platform’s pricing for single-user vendors without affecting multiple users, and profits would increase accordingly. In summary, the development of remanufacturing trading platforms is currently facing three major problems.

Firstly, the traditional remanufacturing trading model has insufficient market influence and asymmetric information between the buyers and the sellers, making it difficult to match a suitable trading partner in the transaction process. Specifically, the buyer’s demand for remanufactured goods and the seller’s supply capacity cannot be better matched. Secondly, due to the special nature of remanufactured products, the logistics mode of the existing remanufacturing trading platform cannot meet the customer’s demand for transparency and traceability of the logistics and transportation process. The logistics system of the remanufacturing trading platform needs to achieve information transparency and full traceability. Finally, the traditional remanufacturing trading platform lacks a sound system and regulator; its information is easily tampered with; security is poor; and both sides of the transaction often face the challenge of integrity risks and opportunistic behavior.

In recent years, blockchain has emerged as a key disruptive technology in logistics and production systems and has attracted research interest from a wide range of fields [8]. Based on our analysis and research findings, we believe that blockchain technology is an appropriate option to improve the current state of remanufacturing transactions and facilitate the development of remanufacturing trading platforms. Blockchain technology is a distributed data management system with many participating subjects working together to complete the construction and maintenance work, which features distributed storage, multi-party security, cryptographic features, smart contracts, etc. [9]. Blockchain technology uses a chain structure to save key data and encrypts the saved data through various cryptographic methods in cryptography to ensure its transmission security. Blockchain’s chain structure improves the authenticity and transparency of transaction data [10]. The data is also generated, saved, and updated through the corresponding consensus mechanism, and can be saved on all nodes at the same time, eliminating the single point of failure and saving the information on the blockchain system, which cannot be deleted or modified [11].

Blockchain relies on each node to form a powerful computation that can defend against external attacks without human intervention. Participants can complete transactions in an environment of trust with complete anonymity. It protects the privacy of all parties involved and increases the security and trustworthiness of the transactions. In addition, each node on the blockchain stores complete data, and as long as no more than 51% of the nodes in the network are occupied by attackers, the system remains secure and stable [12]. Blockchain technology is an integrated intelligent mechanism that forms a decentralized and scalable ecosystem consisting of a data layer, a network layer, a consensus layer, an incentive layer, a contract layer, and an application layer through the interoperability of each technology or protocol [13].

Rana et al. developed a blockchain-based healthcare system that helps improve the healthcare environment by eliminating highly complex processes and manual interventions [14]. Choi T. M. et al. used the mean–variance (MV) approach to investigate the implementation of blockchain technology to facilitate mean-risk analysis of global supply chain operations [15]. Saberi S. et al. examined the potential applications of blockchain technology and smart contracts in supply chain management and provided insights to overcome barriers and adopt blockchain technology for supply chain management [16]. Lin Q. et al. proposed a food safety traceability system using blockchain and EPC information services technology that can effectively detect and prevent food safety problems and trace responsibility [17]. Babich V. et al. filled a gap in this area of research by examining the strengths and weaknesses of blockchain technology as applied to operations management from multiple business and policy perspectives [18]. Orji I. J. et al. examined a theoretical framework of key factors influencing the successful adoption of blockchain technology in the freight logistics industry and prioritized them in favor of improving overall organizational competitiveness [19]. Kouhizadeh M. et al. analyzed the use cases of blockchain in different scenarios and examined how blockchain technology can advance the realization of a circular economy [20]. Yang C. S. et al. studied the application of blockchain in the maritime supply chain and found, through empirical analysis, that dimensions such as customs clearance and management, standardization, and platform development facilitate the blockchain-based digitization of maritime transport [21]. Tian Z. et al. proposed a blockchain-based method for evaluating customer satisfaction in the context of urban logistics and designed a smart contract to compensate or refund customers when they are less satisfied with the delivery service [22]. Shen B. et al. studied the value of blockchain applications for used product resale platforms and showed that horizontal integration was more effective in increasing the total profitability of the supply chain [23]. Manupati V. K. et al. developed a distributed ledger-based blockchain approach to minimize total supply chain costs and carbon emissions and validated the feasibility of the proposed approach by comparing the results with those of a non-dominated ranking genetic algorithm [24]. Tozanlı Ö. et al. incorporated blockchain technology into the formation of manufacturing and logistics architectures to determine optimal trade-in policies that not only maintain the profitability of original equipment manufacturers, but also ensure the sustainability of closed-loop supply chain activities [25]. Van Engelenburg S. et al. designed and evaluated a blockchain framework for the supply chain to explore its feasibility in reducing information asymmetry while protecting sensitive data [26]. Cai Y. J. et al. applied blockchain technology to a clothing rental platform to overcome moral hazards and reduce the unethical gains that retailers can make through opportunism [27]. Ismanto L. et al. built a blockchain-based e-commerce platform that improves the security and transparency of the transaction process [28].

These studies show that blockchain technology can better solve supply chain related problems and enable secure and efficient transactions. However, little research has focused on the integration of blockchain technology with remanufacturing trading platforms. Therefore, this research constructs a remanufacturing trading platform based on the consortium blockchain and explores their coupling mechanism. In this research, we study today’s trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process as far as the model and the service. We carry out our research as a gap analysis of these platforms about their business models and the services they can provide to customers. For the purpose of assessing the limitations of the current remanufacturing trading platforms and finding out the gaps that need to be filled, we compare and analyze typical remanufactured product trading platforms along six different dimensions, including business model, product display, delivery products, quality assurance and after-sales service, product review and star rate, as well as transaction and payment. According to the result of this assessment, we put forward some features for the development of a remanufacturing trading platform aimed at filling in the identified gaps.

To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to analyze the gaps in remanufacturing trading platforms. Our insights serve companies to build a comprehensive remanufacturing trading platform that provides high-quality service for customers and also contributes to the research area of remanufactured product trading.

The rest of this paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, we review today’s trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process. In Section 3, we make a gap analysis of typical trading platforms and list the characteristics of the newly remanufacturing trading platform. This is followed by a consortium blockchain-based remanufacturing trading platform built in Section 4. In addition, the results of the remanufacturing trading platform research are discussed in detail in Section 5. Finally, we summarize the conclusions of this research in Section 6.

2. Review of Today’s Trading Platforms Related to the Reverse Manufacturing Process

In this section, we survey the existing trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process, including multi-product trading platforms, specialized remanufactured product trading platforms, auto recycling platforms, automobile parts recycling platforms, and vehicle recycling data management platforms. The list of the twenty related, typical trading platforms is selected, ordered alphabetically, and numbered (for example, [Platform 1], where 1 also refers to the “ref” column in

Table 1. Existing trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process.

Ref.	Platforms	(a) Type	(b) Established Time	(c) Service Region
[1]	Amazon	Multi-product	In 1995	The global
[2]	ASM Auto Recycling	Auto recycling	In 1986	The UK
[3]	Beijing Scrap Car Disintegration	Auto recycling	in 1998	China
[4]	Bejing Xianglong Borui	Auto recycling	In 2010	China
[5]	CAGDS	Vehicle recycling data management	In 2013	China
[6]	Callparts	Auto recycling	In 1997	Germany
[7]	Cambridge Car Solutions	Auto recycling	In 2014	The UK
[8]	CAMDS	Vehicle recycling data management	In 2009	China
[9]	CEX	Specialized remanufactured products	In 1992	The global
[10]	Chaichejian	Automobile parts recycling	In 2006	China
[11]	eBay	Multi-product	In 1995	The global
[12]	ELVS	Auto recycling	In 2000	The USA
[13]	Gigarefurb	Specialized remanufactured products	In 2013	The UK
[14]	IDIS	Vehicle recycling data management	In the mid-1990s	The global
[15]	IMDS	Vehicle recycling data management	In 2000	The global
[16]	JD	Multi-product	In1998	China
[17]	Lianxin	Auto recycling	In 2019	China
[18]	Remanshop	Specialized remanufactured products	In 2017	China
[19]	Shouchezhan	Auto recycling	In 2016	China
[20]	Taobao	Multi-product	In 2003	China

).

Table 1 lists some fundamental states of the surveyed platforms which are designed for distinguishing these platforms. Column (a) describes the type of the platform. Column (b) enumerates the established time of the platform. The regions served by the platform are shown in Column (c), along with further details about these platforms can be found in Appendix A.

3. Gap Analysis

In the previous section, we introduced the basic information of twenty trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process that were surveyed. But in fact, multiple gaps can be discovered among these platforms. To reduce the repeatability and complexity of gap analysis, according to the Type, Established Time, and Service Region of the 20 platforms mentioned in Table 1, we select seven typical platforms: Amazon, eBay, Remanshop, Gigarefurb, CEX, Taobao, and JD. These seven platforms include multiple products and specialized remanufactured products, the establishment time distribution is uniform, and the service area coverage is comprehensive and has a good representation. A gap analysis is elaborated in this section with the purpose of providing targeted suggestions for building a remanufacturing trading platform. The dimensions covered by the analysis include (i) business model, (ii) product display, (iii) delivery products, (iv) quality assurance and after-sales service, (v) product review and star rate, and (vi) transaction and payment.

3.1. Business Model

Different business models of platforms appeal to different customer groups to make a profit. Among the seven selected platforms, Amazon, eBay, Taobao, and JD are multi-product trading platforms which sell not only remanufactured products, but also general products. The remaining three platforms sell diverse products, but all are related to remanufacturing. Remanshop sells remanufactured automotive parts, while Gigarefurb sells refurbished IT equipment, and CEX mainly aims to sell second-hand goods chain in technology, computing, video games, DVDS, and technology repair, as summarized in

Table 2. Gap analysis of platforms in business model.

Platforms	Business Model	Gaps
Amazon	General purchase B2C e-marketplace	G1.1 The market lacks a professional remanufacturing trading platform G1.2 The customer group determines the business mod
eBay	General purchase B2C and C2C E-marketplace
Remanshop	Remanufactured automotive parts B2B e-marketplace
Gigarefurb	Refurbished IT Equipment E-commerce
CEX	Second-hand goods chain in technology, computing, video games, DVDs, and technology repair E-commerce Both physical stores (600+ stores)/online
Taobao	General purchase B2C and C2C e-marketplace
JD	General purchase B2C e-marketplace

.

According to the different sellers and customer groups of e-commerce platforms, e-commerce models mainly include B2B (Business-to-Business), B2C (Business-to-Customer) and C2C (Customer-to-Customer). Therefore, Amazon and JD are B2C e-marketplaces. Taobao and eBay are B2C and C2C e-marketplaces since their sellers include not only enterprises, but also individual users. And Remanshop is a B2B e-marketplace because its sellers and customers are both enterprises. Nevertheless, Gigarefurb and CEX are e-commerce platforms, not e-marketplaces. In addition, CEX has more than 600 physical stores offline.

3.2. Product Display

What the platform presents to customers seem to be approximate as far as product display is concerned. As summarized in

Table 3. Gap analysis of platforms in product display.

Platforms	Product Display	Gaps
Amazon	Title, brand, product information, product guides and documents, videos, product description, the manufacturer, review, etc. Communicate via email Suggests a Buy Box	G2.1 Product presentation in line with customers’ habits G2.2 Effective communication
eBay	Title, condition, item specifics, seller information, compatibility, payment, shipping, etc. Online communication
Remanshop	Product name, id, price, model, matching car model, emission (for engines), year of make, quantity, detailed introduction of seller, review of product, questions about the product, etc. Online communication
Gigarefurb	Name, code, description, specification, price, payment, reviews, warranty, etc. Online communication
CEX	Name, price, condition, introduction, reviews, warranty, etc. Online communication
Taobao	Name, price, color classification, introduction, reviews, service commitment, payment, distribution, etc. Online communication
JD	Name, price, color classification, introduction, specifications and packing, after-sale protection, reviews, distribution, etc. Online communication

, they mainly include title, brand, price, condition, reviews, delivery, payment, warranty, etc. However, they still have subtle differences. For instance, buyers communicate with sellers only by email on Amazon, and they are more likely to use reviews and Q&As to get product information. On other platforms, buyers usually communicate with the platform’s customer service online.

In terms of product search results, the platforms present results to customers owing to their own set of algorithms. For example, Amazon’s catalog makes it easy for customers to compare prices and suggests a Buy Box in the product search results. While eBay presents customers with many results for screening and research; hence, customers need to compare them through product details so as to select their favorite product. However, other platforms display all search results in the form of ranking them by relevance.

3.3. Delivery Products

There are two ways for today’s trading platforms to deliver products to customers: self-run logistics and third-party logistics. For instance, Amazon has its own distribution mode: FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), as shown in

Table 4. Gap analysis of platforms in delivery products.

Platforms	Delivery Products	Gaps
Amazon	Do-it-yourself Amazon deliver—Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)	G3.1 Self-run logistics and third-party logistics
eBay	Delivery by sellers
Remanshop	Delivered by remanufacturing enterprises
Gigarefurb	Delivery arranged by Gigarefurb Next Day Delivery
CEX	Delivered via Royal Mail, delivery should take no more than 3 to 5 working days
Taobao	Delivery by sellers
JD	FBP distribution mode and SOP distribution mode

. Similarly, in China, JD has FBP (Fulfillment By POP) distribution mode and SOP (Sale On POP) distribution mode, while Taobao’s Tmall also has its own logistics distribution mode, and they can commonly deliver products to consumers as soon as the same day or the next day. Furthermore, many trading platforms have no independent logistics systems, so they need to rely on third-party logistics companies to achieve product delivery. As a consequence, they spend more time delivering products than platforms that have their own independent delivery systems.

3.4. Quality Assurance and After-Sales Service

Table 5. Gap analysis of platforms in quality assurance and after-sales service.

Platforms	Quality Assurance and After-Sales Service	Gaps
Amazon	Buy or return an AmazonBasics brand within 30 days, with a one-year limited warranty	G4.1 Provide a long warranty G4.2 Return and exchange time
eBay	Offer a money-back guarantee policy 12 months warranty
Remanshop	Provide return and exchange service within 7 days if the conditions are met 12 months warranty
Gigarefurb	12 months warranty
CEX	24 Months Warranty. Removable consumable parts—will be covered for 30 days from purchase. Non-removable consumable parts—sealed batteries will be covered for the full duration of the warranty
Taobao	7 days refundable, 15 days exchangeable 12 months warranty
JD	Self-run commodities: return goods within 7 days without any reason The goods of the three parties: 7 days refundable, 15 days exchangeable 12 months warranty

shows that platforms have different regulations on the warranty and after-sales service. For remanufactured products, trading platforms other than CEX typically offer a one-year warranty. As mentioned in Table 5, after-sales service for products includes a return service and an exchange service. We discovered that both Taobao and JD offer a “7 days refundable, 15 days exchangeable” service to customers. In addition, Remanshop provides a return and exchange service for customers within 7 days if the conditions are met. Amazon offers a buy or return service within 30 days for the AmazonBasics brand, while a money-back guarantee policy is offered by eBay.

3.5. Product Review and Star Rate

In our opinion, customers are more likely to judge the quality of goods and logistics services by browsing the reviews and stars of the goods in the selection process. After the order is finished, customers will review and rate the products. As shown in

Table 6. Gap analysis of platforms in product review and star rate.

Platforms	Product Review and Star Rate	Gaps
Amazon	Comprehensive evaluation (good, medium, and poor) The consumer’s single score (+1, 0, −1) is directly accumulated as the merchant’s final credit score	G5.1 Different evaluation indicators G5.2 The impact of the evaluation results
eBay	Comprehensive evaluation (good, medium, and poor) Whether the product is consistent with the description, the satisfaction of communication with the seller, the satisfaction of delivery speed, and the reasonable degree of transportation cost
Remanshop	Comprehensive evaluation (1–5 stars)
Gigarefurb	Reviews for individual products, reviews for platforms (1–5 stars)
CEX	Comprehensive evaluation (1–5 stars)
Taobao	Comprehensive evaluation (good, medium, and poor) The degree of conformity with the description, the service attitude of the seller, and the quality of the logistics service
JD	Divided into product satisfaction (1–5 points), after-sales service satisfaction (platform monitoring index) Product description matching, seller’s service attitude, logistics delivery speed, delivery personnel’s attitude, transaction dispute rate, return and exchange rate, repair rate, after-sale processing time

, each platform has nearly diverse systems for product review and star rate. Remanshop and CEX invite customers to finish comprehensive evaluations (1–5 stars), while Gigarefurb invites customers to finish two evaluations covering the reviews for individual products and the reviews for platforms. In addition, Amazon, eBay and Taobao invite customers to accomplish comprehensive evaluations (good, medium, and poor), and the corresponding indicators are evaluated one by one. It is also worth mentioning that the evaluation system of JD is divided into product satisfaction (1–5 points) and after-sales service satisfaction (platform monitoring index).

3.6. Transaction and Payment

The general process of commodity transactions is as follows:

(1)

The buyer submits the order.

(2)

The buyer makes the payment, and the payment is kept by the platform.

(3)

The seller delivers the goods.

(4)

The buyer receives the goods.

(5)

The platform pays the payment to the seller.

(6)

The evaluation of the buyer.

Different from the above, other transaction processes have been introduced by Amazon, Taobao, and JD in order to provide more convenient services for customers. To be specific, Amazon, Taobao, and JD all provide “Payment after Arrival of Goods” for customers who meet their requirements. In addition, Taobao and JD have launched “Use First, Pay Later” and “Try First, Pay Later” services, respectively. In order to respond to the clients’ various payment needs and demands, the trading platform provides customers with different payment methods, as shown in

Table 7. Gap analysis of platforms in transaction and payment.

Platforms	Transaction and Payment	Gaps
Amazon	General Transaction Procedures Payment after Arrival of Goods Online payment includes credit/debit card payment; Alipay and WeChat payment; Gift Card Payment Payment after Arrival of Goods: cash, POS machine	G6.1 Special transaction process G6.2 A variety of payment methods
eBay	General Transaction Procedures PayPal, credit card, check, or money order
Remanshop	General Transaction Procedures Alipay, bank remittance
Gigarefurb	General Transaction Procedures PayPal, credit/debit card
CEX	General Transaction Procedures Cash payment, Visa and Mastercard credit cards, Visa Debit, Maestro and Solo debit cards, CeX voucher, Apple/Android Pay
Taobao	General Transaction Procedures Use first, pay later, Payment after Arrival of Goods Online payment includes Alipay pay, bank card pay, Alipay friends help pay, cash Payment after Arrival of Goods: cash, POS card, and other mobile payments
JD	General Transaction Procedures Try first, pay later, Payment after Arrival of Goods Online payment includes: Jingdong payment (Jingdong IOU, pocket money, wallet balance, coins, etc.), online bank payment, WeChat payment, and WeChat friend payment Payment after Arrival of Goods: cash, POS card, check Company Transfer

.

3.7. Features of the New Remanufacturing Trading Platform

In the previous section, we evaluated today’s trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process with a thorough gap analysis. In this section, features for the development of remanufacturing trading platforms will be made in view of the identified gaps.

Feature 1: Multiple customer groups. From the viewpoint of the business model, the market lacks a professional remanufacturing trading platform at present. In our opinion, the platform builder first needs to determine the customer group of the platform to determine the business model of the platform. Based on the survey results, we suggest that platform builders build a B2C and C2C combined e-commerce platform in order to attract both enterprise users and individual users.

Feature 2: Transparent and efficient transaction. When designing the product display page, the platform builder should show the features of the product to consumers to help consumers quickly understand the product. As for designing the search algorithm, the optimal search results should be sorted according to the relevance of the keywords entered and the shopping habits of consumers. When designing the communication method between the sellers and the buyers, the platform builder should aim to provide convenient and effective communication.

Feature 3: Reliable logistics and distribution. When it comes to delivering the products, remanufacturing platform builders need to decide whether to build their own logistics system in consideration of their economic and technological level. Generally speaking, when the scale of the remanufacturing platform is small, it is more reasonable to use the third-party logistics platform to realize product distribution. In contrast, remanufacturing platforms can maximize the benefits by means of building their own logistics systems while the platform arrives on a larger scale.

Feature 4: High level of after-sales service. The remanufacturing platform can quickly attract customers and expand their customer base by extending the warranty period of remanufactured products and improving the quality of after-sales service. Furthermore, consumers have a prejudice against remanufactured products [29]. As a consequence, the after-sale service of remanufactured products should be treated with the utmost importance by platform builders.

Feature 5: Effective product evaluation. It has been demonstrated that customers can get up-to-date information about products and services from other customers through product reviews and star ratings, thus influencing the customers’ purchase intention [30]. Therefore, while auditing product quality and improving the service quality, platform builders should also build a reasonable evaluation system to help buyers objectively evaluate the whole process of the product purchase.

Feature 6: Diversified payment modes. In terms of the transaction of remanufactured products, some distinctive modes can be provided by platform builders for attracting customers, such as “Payment after Arrival of Goods”. Beyond that, they should provide various payment methods to meet the needs of different customers.

In order to satisfy the features and trends for the development of remanufacturing trading platforms, six key applications are proposed which contain transaction matching, payment and settlement, logistics management, trading information, commodity information, and credit rating. Furthermore, blockchain technologies can provide effective support for the six key applications, especially in solving the problems of poor traceability and low transaction efficiency, as shown in Figure 1.

4. Consortium Blockchain-Based Remanufacturing Trading Platform

4.1. Categories of Blockchain

At present, blockchain technology is divided into the public chain, private chain, and alliance chain according to different access criteria and thresholds, and the three categories differ in terms of the form of participation and the subject-oriented programming. The public chain is an open blockchain, where people in the network can join or exit at will through the blockchain nodes and carry out processes such as recording and reading of public chain data. The private chain is controlled by an organization or an individual, and the read access can be optionally developed for the public. Its small number of nodes, more centralized data, and lack of decentralization are suitable for specific organizations or small enterprises. The consortium chain is a form of technology between public and private chains that is capable of setting permissions for personnel access under certain rules, ensuring distributed and decentralized features while retaining part of the centralized control and with the characteristics of high trustworthiness, low cost, and scalability. Through consensus protocols, multiple organizations can join together to create a consortium system for a common purpose [31].

4.2. Consortium Blockchain-Based Technology Framework for Remanufacturing Trading Platforms

With its low-cost, high trustworthiness stability and data transmission security, consortium blockchain provides effective technical support for the construction of the framework of the remanufacturing trading platform. The consortium blockchain decentralized remanufacturing transaction system can ensure the safety of other nodes when a single node is attacked, and the distributed ledger can effectively prevent the over-centralization of remanufacturing transaction information storage. For the signature and verification method of encryption technology, a certificate-free signature scheme can be used, thus ensuring the traceability of data information and reducing the cost of traceability. In addition, smart contracts can improve the efficiency and credibility of remanufacturing transactions, complete the supervision and audit of information related to personnel in the whole chain, and greatly improve the effectiveness of supervision.

In the previous sections, we assessed today’s trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process and proposed trends in the remanufacturing trading platforms by analyzing the gaps in the business model, product display, delivery of products, quality assurance and after-sales service, product reviews and star ratings, and transactions and payments for the seven platforms. In order to overcome the shortcomings of traditional e-commerce platforms, comply with the development of remanufacturing trading platforms, and achieve sustainable urban development, we propose a technological framework for remanufacturing trading platforms based on a consortium blockchain. The platform contains four types of nodes: enterprise, customer, third-party logistics (3PL), and regulator. These four nodes share data through the consortium blockchain-based remanufacturing trading platform, as shown in Figure 2.

In a consortium blockchain, all nodes participating in the transactions are nodes that have been authenticated by the organization, and the purpose of enterprises and customers joining the remanufacturing transaction platform supported by the consortium blockchain is to match transactions, share information, track transactions, and evaluate feedback, rather than to obtain certain rewards. Therefore, there is no incentive layer in the technical framework of the consortium blockchain-based remanufacturing trading platform. Instead, there are five layers of the structure, as shown in Figure 3.

Among them, the data layer is the underlying data structure of the consortium blockchain and is the basic module of the platform technology framework which contains the asymmetric encryption, distributed storage, chain structure, Merkel tree, hash algorithm, and time stamp, mainly completing the basic data processing of the remanufacturing trading platform and improving the accuracy and security of data information. The network layer consists of the Peer to Peer (P2P) network, verification mechanism, network access, and transport mechanism, all of which ensures that all nodes on the blockchain can participate in the transmission and interaction of data on the remanufacturing trading platform on an equal footing. The consensus layer includes the consensus mechanism and consensus algorithm. Due to a large number of enterprises and customers of the remanufacturing trading platform and the frequent transactions, we choose the Mixed Byzantine Fault Tolerance (MBFT) as the consensus mechanism. It uses slicing and layering techniques to functionally partition the nodes involved in the consensus process, and MBFT also introduces a random node selection mechanism and credit mechanism with good scalability, security, and high throughput [32]. The contract layer encapsulates various types of script codes and algorithms, and through the combination of different rule variations, it derives smart contracts with complex structures and diverse functions. Smart contracts are self-managed electronic contracts, and nodes will automatically execute transactions when the corresponding terms are touched, ensuring the intelligent execution of contracts and improving the data processing efficiency and transaction speed of the remanufacturing trading platform. The application layer not only provides services to the members of each node on the blockchain but also provides many business services for the supply chain. According to the six features obtained from the gap analysis, various application scenarios in the operation of the remanufacturing trading platform are designed at the application layer, including transaction matching, logistics management, transaction information, commodity information, payment and settlement, and credit rating. Through the application layer of the blockchain, the whole process of the remanufacturing trading platform is made open and transparent, and all information can be queried and monitored in real-time by each node in the transaction process. At the same time, due to the high reliability of blockchain information, complete transaction information and financial information are provided to the regulator of the platform, which ensures the supervision and credit evaluation of the transaction process, reduces labor costs, and also greatly improves the efficiency of supervision.

4.3. Consortium Blockchain-Based Remanufacturing Trading Platform Model

The data of remanufacturing trading platforms has the characteristics of sensitivity, privacy, and antagonism, so it is very important for data authority management. In the previous section, we proposed four nodes on the blockchain and designed a technical framework for a remanufacturing trading platform supported by the consortium blockchain. Based on the four-node type and technical framework, we constructed a remanufacturing trading platform model, which consists of data chain, transaction chain, P2P network, application framework, and technical framework, as shown in Figure 4.

The application framework contains an infrastructure layer, a data layer, and a transaction application layer to provide the data sources and interaction interfaces for the remanufacturing trading platform. Among them, the infrastructure layer is necessary for the whole platform, providing software and hardware equipment for platform construction. The data layer mainly completes the distributed storage of the remanufacturing trading platform data. In addition, all nodes on the blockchain maintain a distributed ledger, and enterprises and customers can rely on the data on the distributed ledger to perform different operations. The transaction application layer is the core of the application framework, providing service interfaces for data transmission, retrieval, and transaction of the remanufacturing trading platform. Nodes in the consortium blockchain can complete platform services such as transaction matching, logistics management, transaction information, commodity information, payment settlement, and credit rating through these interfaces. The data chain is used to store the ciphertext and key obtained using the asymmetric encryption technique and hash algorithm and encapsulates all data into a block with a time stamp. The transaction chain mainly stores transaction information, order information, logistics information, etc., ensuring the traceability and immutability of the remanufacturing trading platform data.

4.4. The Coupling Mechanism of the Consortium Blockchain and Remanufacturing Trading Platform Construction

The remanufacturing trading platform based on the consortium blockchain is centered on blockchain technology, and its technical framework and platform model meet the requirements of data governance in the remanufacturing transaction process, reducing the costs and improving the transaction efficiency. In the remanufacturing trading platform, information needs to be exchanged and stored equally among the nodes, and the technology of the consortium blockchain can just guarantee the integrity of information access among the multiple nodes. Secondly, consortium blockchain technology enables every transaction to be saved on the chain and enables efficient and tamper-proof exchange across the chain with digital signatures and asymmetric encryption, enabling remanufactured transactions between nodes under a low-cost trust. In order to better reveal the inner logic of blockchain technology supporting the construction of the remanufacturing trading platform, we depicted the coupling mechanism between the consortium blockchain and remanufacturing trading platform construction, as shown in Figure 5.

The consortium blockchain’s asymmetric cryptography, smart contracts, consensus mechanism, time stamps, distributed storage, chain structure and other features make the consortium blockchain decentralized, with the transparent information and automatic execution being safe and reliable; traceable and unforgeable. With these advantages, the consortium blockchain improves the transaction efficiency of the remanufacturing trading platform, ensures safe and efficient logistics, and promotes the intelligent development of the remanufacturing trading platform. The consortium blockchain will support the construction of the remanufacturing trading platform from six aspects: accurate transaction matching, data security supervision, accurate traceability of transaction items, intelligent logistics management, payment and settlement management, and credit evaluation. Each node will realize the transaction matching, logistics management, transaction information, commodity information, payment and settlement, credit rating, and other services through the interface of the transaction application layer. It meets the six features of the new remanufacturing trading platform derived from the gap analysis, improves the information asymmetry of the remanufacturing trading market, improves the function and efficiency of the remanufacturing trading platform, and promotes the intelligent development of the remanufacturing industry.

Specifically, multi-agents such as enterprises, customers, third-party logistics (3PL), and regulators all belong to the remanufacturing transaction nodes, forming a multi-agent node combination to realize the multi-customer group of the platform. The commodity information and transaction information between the nodes are permanently recorded on the distributed ledger, which is automatically implemented through smart contracts, and the transaction matching algorithm is used to obtain the optimal transaction plan and return it to the two parties. The two parties conclude a transaction contract according to the matching results, and the platform generates a smart contract according to the contract. When the conditions of the smart contract are met, the seller automatically delivers the goods, the buyer submits the payment, completes the transaction of the remanufactured product, and ensures the transaction is transparent and efficient. Through the transaction, order, and logistics information on the transaction chain, combined with the time stamp block formed by the data chain, reliable logistics and distribution can be realized. Both sides of the transaction can obtain logistics information through the logistics management module and confirm the transaction status. When the platform automatically identifies abnormal transactions, it uses logistics management and transaction information modules to achieve accurate traceability and a timely response to the needs of both sides of the transaction and completes a high level of after-sales service. At the same time, the two sides of the transaction need to evaluate each other after the completion of the transaction, and the regulatory agency will evaluate them based on the transaction information, logistics information, etc. Due to the transparency and unforgeability of the data, it will have a great impact on the subsequent remanufacturing transaction process of each node, so as to ensure effective product evaluation. With its distributed and decentralized characteristics, the consortium blockchain constructs a consortium system for remanufacturing transactions, supports diversified payment methods, and promotes the development of the remanufacturing transactions.

5. Discussion

Due to the imperfect structure and information asymmetry of the remanufacturing trading platform, enterprises and customers have difficulties in transaction matching, transaction traceability, logistics management, payment and settlement, and credit rating, etc. The consortium blockchain protects the privacy of all participants with asymmetric cryptography, smart contract, consensus mechanism, time stamps, distributed storage, and chain structure, which increases the transaction security and credibility, making the remanufacturing trading platform with the advantages of decentralization, information transparency, automatic execution, safety and reliability, traceability, and non-falsification.

In our research, we first investigated and analyzed 20 remanufacturing trading platforms and analyzed their gaps from six aspects: business model, product display, delivery products, quality assurance and after-sales service, product review and star rate, and transaction and payment. On this basis, we put forward the development characteristics and trends of remanufacturing trading platforms: multiple customer groups, transparent and efficient transaction, reliable logistics and distribution, high level of after-sales service, effective product evaluation, and diversified payment modes. In order to solve the problems of poor traceability and low transaction efficiency of the remanufacturing trading platform and realize the six development characteristics obtained through the gap analysis, we propose a technical framework for the remanufacturing trading platform based on the consortium blockchain. The platform contains four types of nodes: enterprises, customers, third-party logistics (3PL), and regulators, which share data through a blockchain-based consortium remanufacturing transaction platform. The technical framework of the remanufacturing trading platform, based on the consortium blockchain, is composed of the data layer, network layer, consensus layer, contract layer, and application layer. Among them, the data layer is the underlying data structure of the consortium blockchain, which is mainly responsible for the basic data processing of the remanufacturing trading platform. The network layer ensures that all grade points participate in data transmission and interaction in an equal position. The consensus layer includes the consensus mechanism and consensus algorithm. We chose a hybrid Byzantine fault-tolerant (MBFT) as a consensus mechanism, so that all nodes can reach consensus in the decentralized network. The contract layer encapsulates various types of script codes and algorithms to ensure the intelligent execution of contracts and improve the data processing efficiency and transaction speed of the remanufacturing trading platform. The application layer includes various application scenarios in the operation process of the remanufacturing trading platform, including transaction matching, logistics management, transaction information, commodity information, payment settlement, and credit rating.

Based on this technical framework, we build a remanufacturing trading platform model which is composed of the data chain, transaction chain, P2P network, application framework, and established technical framework. The core of the application framework is the transaction application layer, which provides service interfaces such as data transmission, retrieval, and transaction of the remanufacturing trading platform. Nodes in the consortium blockchain can complete platform services such as transaction matching, logistics management, transaction information, commodity information, payment settlement, and credit rating through these interfaces. The data chain is used to store ciphertext and keys, encapsulating all data into a time-stamped block. The transaction chain stores transaction information, order information, logistics information, etc., to ensure the traceability and security of the data of the remanufacturing trading platform.

Moreover, we analyzed the coupling mechanism of the consortium blockchain and remanufacturing trading platform construction, and explained how the platform can help enterprises and customers solve the remanufacturing transaction problems from six aspects: accurate matching of transactions, data security supervision, accurate traceability of transaction items, intelligent logistics management, payment and settlement management, and credit evaluation of each node. First of all, according to the commodity information and demand information uploaded by the two sides of the transaction, the platform obtains the optimal transaction scheme through the transaction matching algorithm and provides the results to the two sides of the transaction as a reference basis for decision-making, so as to improve the transaction efficiency and economic benefits. Secondly, due to the sensitivity and antagonism of the remanufacturing transaction data, it is difficult to ensure data security in the transaction process. The platform uses technologies such as asymmetric encryption and distributed storage to improve the accuracy and security of data information and ensure that the whole process of data supervision is controllable. In addition, the platform permanently records transaction information and logistics information on a distributed ledger, which facilitates accurate traceability and intelligent logistics management. Fourth, due to the decentralized structure, the platform also supports payment methods such as “Payment after Arrival of Goods” to meet the payment needs of different customers. Finally, the behavior of enterprises and customers will be permanently recorded on the platform, and both sides of the transaction can view the credit rating of both sides during the selection exchange, thus improving the quality of remanufacturing transactions.

At present, the application range of blockchain support platforms is constantly expanding, and the integration of consortium blockchain technology is an inevitable way to the development of the remanufacturing industry. Important economic and geopolitical developments have conspired to affect the use of blockchain-enabled platforms and business transactions. In response to the unparalleled disruption caused by the COVID–19 pandemic on public health and the real economy, central banks around the world announced a range of unconventional policy measures injecting liquidity into households and firms [33]. For cryptocurrencies powered by blockchain technology, liquidity is often measured by a cryptocurrency’s market cap and daily volume. The better designed a cryptocurrency, the more likely its success, which increases liquidity and engenders even greater trust, familiarity, use, and market size. Increased trade relations are likely to spill over and stimulate international capital flows, as rules, regulations, and specifications are standardized [34]. Excess liquidity not only increases the firms’ residual income and ability to invest in blockchain-supported platforms, but also makes transactions between firms and consumers more likely. In addition, production networks might not only be important for the propagation of idiosyncratic shocks but might also be a propagation mechanism of monetary policy to the real economy [35]. This suggests that increasing inflationary pressures following the war in Ukraine may be an important factor driving the use of blockchain-backed platforms.

6. Conclusions

This article focuses on the practical issues in the remanufacturing trade and based on the results of the literature analysis and structured research, we have surveyed a number of available remanufactured product trading platforms as far as the model and the service. The trading platforms related to the reverse manufacturing process were evaluated via a gap analysis that outlined their gaps in (i) business model, (ii) product display, (iii) delivery products, (iv) quality assurance and after-sales service, (v) product review and star rate, and (vi) transaction and payment. Collectively, these gaps reflect the difference of the emphases in the platform construction of each trading platform.

Based on the results of the survey and the gap analysis, we propounded the characteristics of a new remanufacturing trading platform. Considering the characteristics of a new remanufacturing trading platform, we choose the consortium blockchain to build a remanufacturing trading platform and design its technical framework and platform model. We depict the coupling mechanism between the consortium blockchain and remanufacturing trading platform construction from five aspects and structurally reveal the intrinsic correlation features between them. The consortium blockchain-based remanufacturing trading platform presented in this paper could potentially benefit both the policymakers and practitioners in remanufacturing trading platforms and bring a large number of economic and environmental benefits, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of society.

In future research, the mechanism of blockchain supporting the construction of remanufacturing trading platforms can be further explored to provide the design principles and analysis basis for the optimization and upgrading of remanufacturing trading platforms. In addition, we need to realize that diversified cutting-edge technologies are required to complete the profound changes in the remanufacturing trading industry, and we should integrate and develop the remanufacturing trading platform ecosystem with technologies such as big data, 5G, and IoT, so as to achieve the transformative optimization of the remanufacturing trading platform.