It is possible to single out several directions, according to which blockchain will be useful in the retail trade.
Interaction with partners
It includes all the partners of a company, from suppliers and transport companies to regulators. Each retailer in his daily interaction with partners exchanges a huge number of documents, accounts, certificates, etc. It is sometimes impossible to avoid both loss of documents, and discrepancies in information, or human errors. If you use a blockchain and create a common information space with partners all these problems can be avoided. It will also significantly reduce both costs and risks.
Tracking of goods and control of counterfeit
So, if each product is marked with an RFID-tag or a simple QR-code when it is produced or imported into Russia, and information about this label and the goods is entered in the blockchain-network, we can control what happens to the goods at every stage of its life cycle. Thus, retail networks and even customers, can access information about the product. Where was the product manufactured? What materials were used? How was it transported? How were the storage conditions observed?
A similar idea is offered by the publication of Independent Retailer. “Knowing how products were manufactured and received is becoming increasingly important for many consumers. Blockchain can serve as a reliable source of reliable data on the origin of the goods. For example, are these fruits really grown on organic plantations? Or what is the history of this jewelry, was it stolen or forged? It is possible that blockchain-technology will be in demand in the market for designer goods and jewelry, where they will help to track forgery.”
Working solutions
At the moment, perhaps the only working example of technology is a platform for processing transactions with cryptocurrency. But a number of companies, including Russian ones, are making trial steps, studying the use of blockchain networks in other areas.
Sberbank and M.Video implemented a pilot project. They have used a platform that allows you to maintain a register of deliveries by the retailer and suppliers for the subsequent financing of suppliers. It also includes storage of information on blockchain technology. S7 Airlines and Alfa-Bank both talked about another case for using the solution. They conducted the first transaction in the country to pay for services through a letter of credit using smart contracts.
CROC, for example, also has some developments in this direction. This, in particular, the digital contract system is created on behalf of a large state-owned bank. It is based on the Bitfury Exonum blockchain-platform. It provides reliable registration and secure storage of key events in the bank’s investment process. The system is designed for secure registration and storage of key events in the investment process, including the signing of contracts, acceptance of goods, works, services, etc.”
Perspective
One of the possible scenarios for the use of blockchain in the very near future will affect, among other things, the broad masses of the population. It is the creation of property registers. They include land, real estate, registration of election results, control of notarial processes.
“Blockchain will allow us to change the functions of the usual gadgets,” believes Oleg Yakushev, an expert of JSC IC “ZERICH Capital Management”. A mobile phone or credit card will become a means of access to distributed databases, in which all information of the citizen is stored. It includes passport and biometric data, work record book, social, pension and health insurance accounts, driver’s license, access to bank accounts, etc. even discounts in specific stores or season tickets to the fitness club. And, in case of loss or theft of this gadget, the owner should not worry. All the information in distributed databases is stored in encrypted form. So, the restoration of the set of documents will depend only on the speed of information exchange between the databases.
The next logical step should be the use of blockchain technologies in business, in particular in trade and in the sphere of financial settlements. In addition to simplifying the reporting of companies, one of the possible consequences may be a complete refusal of cash circulation. The bravest supporters of blockchain suspect that in the global perspective, bank lending will be replaced by crowds and flagging platforms. So, the buyer and seller will enter deals in the stock market directly with each other. It will lead to the disappearance of stock exchanges in their current form.”
The principles laid down in blockchain allow to suggest that in the distant future all data will be transparent and unchanged. That is why any action and any object will be digitized. Perhaps, someday this ideal future will really come. Currently, there are a lot of restrictions on the legislation in the areas of finance, public administration, insurance, and a number of other industries. In these spheres, the use of blockchain is the most promising, as well as the limitations of the technology itself and the existence of already established schemes of interaction between companies. For example, it can be used for legally significant financial document circulation (in particular, invoices, etc.). Appropriate changes are required to the regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service. Therefore, any kind of revolution will not happen in this direction. However, gradual evolution is quite possible.
Bridget McDermott is IBM vice-president for business development and ecosystems at Blockchain. She has given an interview to Independent Retailer. She compares the prospects for the development of blockchain with the evolution of telephone communications. “If you are the only person who has a telephone, this is an excellent paperweight. If you and your best friends have phones, it’s already something. If everyone has phones and we are connected to a common network, this is the present day. To ensure that a network is an effective tool, everyone should participate in it.”
EiraCube also takes part in that. That is why the company is developing a breakthrough solution. We address these issues by putting blockchain-driven technologies at the core of the Retail 3.0 and the Internet of Things.
