A Decentralized Supply Chain Architecture for Fragmented Artisan Economies: Mitigating Intermediary Exploitation through Digital Disintermediation

Abstract

The Indian handicraft sector is a highly decentralized, labor-intensive industry that supports over 7 million artisans. However, the economic sustainability of this creative economy is severely hindered by highly fragmented supply chains, a lack of direct market access, and significant profit extraction by intermediaries. This paper proposes a conceptual digital supply chain architecture tailored for decentralized artisan clusters. Moving beyond traditional e-commerce models, the proposed system integrates an algorithmic inventory layer, a localized mobile interface for low-literacy populations, and a transparent transaction ledger to establish a direct Peer-to-Peer (P2P) pipeline between rural producers and global consumer markets. We analyze the system's capacity to streamline forward and backward economic linkages—connecting raw material suppliers to global retail networks. The framework demonstrates how targeted digital infrastructure can mitigate structural market barriers, ensure equitable revenue distribution, and foster long-term socio-economic viability for traditional craft ecosystems.