This paper examines the impact of blockchain adoption on supply chain efficiency under capacity constraints and demand information asymmetry. We consider a single supplier allocating limited output to two competing manufacturers using either proportional allocation (PA) or lexicographic allocation (LA). Manufacturers possess private demand signals and have incentives to inflate orders when information is opaque. Blockchain enables transparent, tamper-proof sharing of demand data, improving coordination. We find that blockchain enhances total supply chain efficiency under both PA and LA by allowing the supplier to set demand-contingent wholesale prices, reducing mismatch between supply and stochastic demand. However, the distribution of benefits depends critically on the allocation mechanism. Under PA, the supplier consistently benefits from transparency due to improved pricing power. Manufacturers gain only under relatively low product substitutability and high capacity levels; otherwise, intensified competition and reduced information advantage leave them worse off despite system-wide gains. Under LA, blockchain redistributes rents: the high-priority manufacturer loses his informational rent as preferential access becomes less valuable under full transparency, while the low-priority manufacturer benefits from more restrained ordering behavior. Thus, blockchain acts as a power-balancing mechanism in hierarchical relationships. Our results demonstrate that blockchain is not a neutral technology – it reshapes bargaining power and rent distribution.
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