Be More Specific! An Exploratory Study of 5g and Blockchain Application on Retailing Industry With Suning Limited Case

Currently, 5G and blockchain technologies become a pervasive topic. While lots of research are conducting a general review of their technical characteristics and proposing various application scenarios, a study that focuses on a specific industry supported with practical data is still in a paucity. This study selects Suning Limited, one of the Chinese pioneers in the blockchain and 5G technology deployment and development, as the main case to explore how the above two technologies can be applied in the retailing industry to achieve the organization goals in terms of performance effectiveness and efficiency. Meanwhile, this study introduces how 5G and blockchain as solutions to deal with some main operational and managerial challenges in the industry. The limitations and recommendations of the study are provided.