Blockchain & Digital Twins – The Future of Supply Chain Traceability

Concept & Interaction Between the Two Technologies
Blockchain and digital twins are separate technologies that strongly complement each other in the journey toward supply chain digitization.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger that records events, statuses, and transactions in an immutable and verifiable manner across a decentralized network.
A digital twin is a dynamic digital replica of a product, asset, or real-world process—continuously updated by sensors and IoT systems.
When integrated, blockchain can store a fingerprint of each digital twin, verifying that the data accurately reflects the physical reality without being tampered with or falsified.
This interaction not only ensures data accuracy but also enhances transparency, security, and real-time traceability—supporting internal management while building trust with customers and third-party partners.

Applications in Preservation and Logistics
In the cold chain industry, digital twins connected with blockchain allow for end-to-end monitoring of a product’s journey from packaging to the end user.
For instance, if temperature or humidity thresholds are exceeded at any point, the digital twin will record the event, and blockchain will store this information immutably.
This technology helps businesses detect quality degradation early, respond swiftly to prevent spoilage, and ensure a continuous cold chain throughout the journey.
In air or maritime transport, digital twins simulate cargo flow—container status, location, environmental conditions—and events are stored on blockchain to support traceability of claims and improve logistics accountability.

Current Status in Vietnam and ASEAN
In Vietnam, some companies are piloting blockchain and digital twin technologies in food chains, agricultural exports, and vaccine cold chains.
The goal is to enhance transparency when exporting to markets like the EU, US, or Japan, while building robust internal risk control systems.
In the ASEAN region, leading countries such as Singapore and Thailand have begun implementing embedded digital twin models in airport logistics and cold storage, using blockchain to link data among operators and regulators.
This opens potential for cross-border cooperation, enabling secure supply chain data sharing while preserving organizational data privacy.

Studies emphasize the critical role of integrating digital twins and blockchain in improving supply chain security, transparency, and traceability.

The integration of digital twins with blockchain in vaccine cold chain management is opening a completely new approach to ensuring data transparency and reliability throughout transport. Digital twins allow real-time simulation of each vaccine batch’s condition—from temperature and humidity to vibrations during transit—while blockchain stores all this data immutably, ensuring that all stakeholders in the supply chain can access, verify, and respond quickly to any discrepancies. This combination not only enhances internal monitoring but also meets stringent traceability requirements from international health authorities, minimizing spoilage, loss, and costs in mass vaccination campaigns. It is a proactive, smart, and safe solution for protecting vaccine quality amid the constant risk of disease outbreaks.

From Trend to Standard in Modern Supply Chains
The integration of blockchain and digital twins is not merely a tech trend—it’s becoming a mandatory standard in modern supply chain design, especially in industries where traceability is critical, such as healthcare, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.
We believe Vietnamese businesses need to promptly build a phased pilot roadmap: starting with cold chain vaccines or agricultural exports, then expanding to consumer logistics and imported products. Once the initial platform is stable, scaling it across sectors and developing cross-enterprise and cross-national supply chain data platforms will be a strategic long-term step.

In conclusion, blockchain and digital twins are a “next-gen” technology duo creating transparent, intelligent, and fraud-resistant supply chains—paving the way for a sustainable and globally trusted logistics ecosystem.

By Kim Thy