AntChain, the blockchain arm of Chinese fintech company Ant Group, has enlisted the help of Nike to test out a new way of tracing a product’s origin.
The pilot program, which launched during this year’s 618 shopping festival, enables consumers to access product origin information by simply tapping their smartphone against an NFC chip on their Nike shoes. Near Field Communication refers to short-range wireless connection between electronic devices enabled by magnetic field induction (i.e., contactless payment).
The blockchain-authenticated product origin information includes details like style, the warehouse for shipment, and delivery date. The pilot program reportedly covers close to 130,000 pairs of Nike shoes at present and both companies are planning to further explore the power of this solution to “enhance the consumer experience and protect consumer rights”.
One of the biggest strengths of blockchain technology is its potential for enhancing supply chain traceability. Blockchain is a “chronological string of blocks” that records all the details of each transaction in a supply chain using a highly secure encrypted method. This connectivity and security provide a revolutionary level of transparency to supply chain management, helping companies verify the origins of their products.
Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba and owns the world’s largest digital payment system Alipay. Ant Group unveiled AntChain in 2020 as a banner brand for their blockchain technology solutions as well as their work on AI and other technologies. AntChain recently launched a series of Web3 research initiatives, including AntChain OpenLab, a new research centre dedicated to building a secure, transparent and reliable Web 3.0 infrastructure.
