DLT in manufacturing: A systematic review of applications, taxonomy, enablers, maturity, and challenges

abstract

Although distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) have transformed financial sectors, their manufacturing applications lack systematic maturity assessment frameworks. Previous reviews identified DLT benefits but show critical gaps, including a lack of quantitative maturity metrics, insufficient categorization of use cases, and limited platform-specific comparative analysis. This systematic literature review addresses these gaps through three key contributions: (i) a novel Distributed Ledger Technology Maturity Level (DLTML) framework, (ii) a four-category manufacturing taxonomy, and (iii) platform-specific implementation analysis. Analyzing 60 primary studies (2018¿2025) using Kitchenham¿s guidelines, Wohlin¿s snowballing, and Treiblmaier¿s assessment framework, we answer the following: (i) What are the categories of use of DLT in manufacturing? (ii) What features of DLT are key enablers and what specific challenges have been addressed in current manufacturing solutions? (iii) What is the level of technological maturity of DLT applications in manufacturing according to the existing literature? The category Process Execution Tracking dominates (80 % of the studies), followed by Provenance (65 %), Ownership Management (30 %) and Payment Management (25 %). Smart contracts are the main enablers (81. 67 %), followed by decentralization (48.33 %). Governance mechanisms remain unaddressed, and interoperability progress is limited. Hyperledger Fabric leads privacy-sensitive scenarios (55 %), while Ethereum dominates transparency-focused applications (38 %). DLTML assessment shows that 61.66 % achieve intermediate maturity (DLTML-3), 20 % achieve high-fidelity prototypes (DLTML-4), but none achieves verified operational deployment (DLTML-5). This study provides evidence-based guidance for researchers and decision makers pursuing the adoption of DLT in manufacturing. © 2025 The Authors.