Md Fazle Alahi Bhuiyan Receives Supply Chain Excellence Award 2026

Md Fazle Alahi Bhuiyan has received the Supply Chain Excellence Award 2026 for his research on how emerging digital technologies can improve the performance, resilience and sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The award was presented at the International Royal Golden Fellow Award 2026 Ceremony and the Second International Conference on AI-Driven Innovation, Modern Technology and Multidisciplinary Research in Patent Development—Patent Gen Beta 2.0 2026, held on August 28–29, 2026.

Eudoxia Research University, USA, and Eudoxia Research Centre, India, conferred the award following a review of research submissions by the conference selection committee.

At the conference, Bhuiyan presented quantitative research on the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain and lean-oriented practices to improve sustainable supply chain performance among SMEs.

The study analysed survey and performance data from 300 SMEs operating in manufacturing, distribution, retail, logistics, agri-food and technology-enabled services.

The research found that IoT had the highest mean adoption score among the technologies studied at 0.510, followed by AI at 0.495 and blockchain at 0.471.

Regression analysis showed that AI had the strongest positive coefficient at 3.93, followed by IoT at 3.46, while blockchain recorded a positive coefficient of 1.46.

According to the study, blockchain has a more specialised role in areas such as traceability, supplier verification, data integrity and transaction transparency.

The research also examined the role of digital transformation in achieving sustainability objectives, including carbon-footprint reduction, waste-management efficiency and circular-economy practices.

A key finding was that digital technologies can deliver greater value when integrated with lean management principles, sustainability planning and appropriate managerial capabilities rather than being adopted as standalone technological investments.

The findings may have relevance for SMEs in Bangladesh in areas including inventory visibility, demand forecasting, logistics responsiveness, supplier evaluation, traceability and resource utilisation.

By combining Industry 4.0 technologies with lean and sustainability-oriented practices, the study provides a framework for SMEs seeking to improve operational efficiency, resilience and supply chain sustainability.

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