ToolChain — Revolutionizing your business, supply chain and product marketing using low cost Blockchain-IoT with zero technical knowledge (with examples)
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Blockchain+IoT as a solution
3. Example use cases
3.1. Artisan handicraft maker
3.2. Supermarket Sushi
4. Current Enterprise and Industry use cases
4.1. SBTG + ToolChain + HBO Asia + Game of Thrones
4.2. Fuji MARUMO Tea
4.3. Haier IoC-COSMOplat platform utilizing VeChainThor
4.4. Swell-INNERSECT fashion initiative by Edison Chen
5. Conclusion
6. Credits and Acknowledgments
Update: VeChain’s ToolChain portal is now open at https://www.vechain.com/product/toolchain. Sign up for a free trial today or apply to be a Channel Partner and start onboarding your business and users to the Blockchain!
Introduction
For decades, businesses small to big, from start-ups to SMEs to massive private and state owned enterprises have been plagued with various supply chain issues such as poor traceability along the supply chain as well as the need for more transparent business practices. Ineffective supply chain risk management as well as a lack of end-to-end visibility are both cited by a study conducted by Deloitte 2018 study titled ‘Continuous interconnected supply chain’. Authenticity and anti-counterfeiting is also a concern in many industries with widespread counterfeiting happening in the market.
Coupled with today’s purchasing behaviour by increasingly educated customers demanding greater transparency, sustainability, ethical business practices and so on, the reality is that even with modern traceability technologies and structures laid out and deployed, businesses still fail to properly track and trace their supply chain. Communicating these efforts to these customers prove also to be a challenge.
This article will highlight the solution to the problems mentioned above which will also revolutionize your business, supply chain and product marketing and provide in-depth examples and proven case studies on its potential.
Blockchain+IoT as a solution
Blockchain has been often cited as the perfect solution to many of these complex supply chain problems. Blockchain’s immutable and transparent distributed ledger coupled with modern IoT sensors could ensure that all information could be tracked real-time in the supply chain and that the info recorded would not be tampered. Practical case studies (which will be highlighted in depth later on in this article) have shown that these information could be then highlighted in a transparent manner through QR codes, NFC tags that could be scanned by retail customers.
The problem? Hiring Blockchain consultants, developers, ordering physical IoT kits, sensors, can cost a lot of money. Money that most start-ups or SMEs could not afford to allocate such resources for. The various enterprise Blockchains out there, such as IBM’s Hyperledger are either too costly or hard to approach making them accessible only by some larger enterprises.
Introducing ToolChain: A cost effective, zero knowledge required Blockchain solution for products and supply chains
ToolChain is revolutionary turnkey solution powered by the world’s leading enterprise grade public blockchain, VeChain. ToolChain allows any business or individual to utilize the class-leading Blockchain and IoT solutions used by VeChain in its enterprise use cases without any technical knowledge, be it Blockchain or the intricacies of the numerous IoT devices in the market.
ToolChain allows any business or individual to utilize the class-leading Blockchain and IoT solutions used by VeChain in its enterprise use cases without any technical knowledge, be it Blockchain or the intricacies of the numerous IoT devices in the market.
To put it simply, ToolChain provides a complete suite of industry-leading IoT sensors and devices, including NFC, RFID, QR code printer, as well as humidity, acceleration and temperature sensors and a NFC/RFID hybrid tag. ToolChain users will be able to attach these advanced IoT sensors and devices, write information such as supply chain and logistical data onto the VeChainThor Blockchain using the supplied software and web portal assigned to each unique individual or business.
To learn more about the unveiling of ToolChain and its full feature set, please read the following summary article at https://medium.com/@bsc44/vechain-summit-2019-keynote-summary-4cebc5a98f29#6983
Example use cases and practical case studies
Scenario A: Artisan handicraft maker
For example, if you are an artisan handicraft maker looking for a way to ensure that your handcrafted products are unique and authentic, you are now able to order a ToolChain kit, attach a NFC tag into your product or product label and upload the relevant product authentication information into the Blockchain.
At the same time, product traceability data, logistical flow data, certificates and manufacturing processes as well as photos and videos can also be attached to the NFC tag.
When your product gets shipped to the customer, all he/she needs to do is use the VeChain Pro app and scan the NFC tag to reveal every detail and story that you always wanted to tell.
Scenario B: Supermarket Sushi
Imagine that you are a Sushi distributor thinking of ways on how to better communicate that the Salmon or Tuna you use is of a certain origin (eg. Japan or Norway).
Your current strategy is as of follows:
1) Print physical posters, banners and leaflets with fancy designs explaining your ingredients, certificates and experience
2) Hire part-time promoters and rent stall space
3) Handing out the said physical marketing pieces to customers, hoping that they will not throw it into the rubbish bin as soon as they leave the supermarket/shop.
The weaknesses of the current staple strategy is simply a waste of costs like cash paid to the print shop, wages paid to the designer and promoter, as well as physical resources like paper, ink. Such strategies are not only costly, but also ineffective compared to the new age digital marketing with ToolChain.
With ToolChain, a smart QR code can be directly printed on the packaging which shows the entire supply chain and packing process, including cold chain logistics data, humidity and temperature levels maintained throughout the journey of the product to stores. Also, not only the stories and pictures that are used on physical leaflets are shown but now also videos can be used — further enhancing your branding and marketing while simultaneously keeping costs down
Current enterprise and industry case studies
Case 1: SBTG + ToolChain + HBO Asia + Game of Thrones
SBTG is an influential Singapore based custom sneakers artist, selling customized branded sneakers with collaboration with multiple sneaker brands including Adidas, Nike and more.
Brands that are selling inherently luxury or limited goods often suffer from counterfeits, which SBTG often encounters. Besides problems of counterfeiting, artists like SBTG also struggle withcommunicating their vision and goals with customers, and the storytelling of such products often ends after the sale of the goods.
With ToolChain, SBTG has successfully implemented an advanced IoT and Blockchain based traceability, authenticity and storytelling marketing, solving all of the problems mentioned above. The official Game of Thrones sneakers commissioned by HBO Asia is completely powered by the ToolChain kit.
When a customer scans the NFC chipped sneakers, not only is a full description of the product including the unique sneaker ID displayed, but also an introductory and behind the scenes video, product logistical information, authenticity information as well as a thank you message. This, in effect, boosts pre and post-purchase marketing by having an element that directly engages and interacts with SBTG’s customers.
Case 2: Fuji Marumo Tea
Note: Parts of this case study are extracted from the VeChain Foundation Medium
Fuji MARUMO Tea Garden is a Japanese tea company with a rich heritage of history, boasting a business lineage of almost 100 years. Fuji MARUMO’s tea are harvested in one of the most famous origins of Japanese tea, located in Shizuoka, Japan. Shizuoka has been a staple in tea harvesting as early as in the year 1241.
For this solution, VeChain assigns every product a unique ID ensuring the exclusiveness of the line. Through the NFC chip, customers can verify that the origin of their tea is from Fuji MARUMO Tea Garden, the unique environment for cultivating tea in Japan. Furthermore, when scanning the chips, the consumer can retrieve further information about the product, such as the history of the tea garden in a video and a verification certificate issued and stored on the VeChainThor Blockchain.
Case 3: Haier IoC-COSMOplat platform utilizing VeChainThor
On April 1st, 2019, Haier, DNV GL and VeChain signed a tripartite strategic partnership to utilize the VeChainThor Blockchain for its COSMOplat platform. COSMOPlat is the ecological backbone of Haier, operating as an open industrial internet platform with independent intellectual property rights making it the first ever platform for third parties to participate in the entire industrial process.
For the purpose of this case study, a simplified overview of Haier’s efforts involve placing Haier products on the Blockchain, tracing its entire product lifecycle history as well as product information. As mentioned in the other case studies above, customers of the Haier ecosystem could easily scan embedded NFC chips or QR codes to obtain product information in a transparent and convenient way.
Case 4 : Swell-INNERSECT fashion initiative by Edison Chen
Another fine example of ToolChain’s flexible and powerful feature was showcased during Swell’s INNERSECT event in 2018.
Swell is a fashion brand intiative partnered with INNERSECT, a inaugural fashion event hosted by famous celebrity Edison Chen. The event showcases the latest in fashion trends, and Swell X INNERSECT opted to showcase their usage of the ToolChain toolkit.
Using the dedicated Swell app from Play Store and App Store (for Android and iOS respectively), users can directly scan the NFC chip embedded in various fashion products such as hoodies, beanies, Nike shoes powered by ToolChain, and more. Users can then register their scanned products on their Swell profile and tie their authentic fashion goods on the blockchain to their own user profile.
ToolChain is powerful for brands as it is white-label friendly. White labelling refers to the process of rebranding a turnkey solution with a businesses’ own branding, design and logo. Swell rebranded the entire ToolChain kit with their own brand language and released their own ToolChain-powered App.
Swell’s usage of the ToolChain whitelabel solution is a powerful example of how brands can leverage the power of Blockchain, IoT without needing to know any technical knowledge. Unprecedented customer engagements, transparency, traceability and authentication can be done all using a single turnkey solution, designed for mass adoption of small businesses, SMEs, enterprises and even governments.
Conclusion
Through the various use case examples and real case studies above, it is evident that supply chain traceability, authenticity and marketing will be revolutionized by VeChain’s advanced IoT and Blockchain solutions.
The call for more transparency by customers has been both a boon and bane for companies worldwide. With VeChain’s solutions, there is finally a user friendly, transparent, secure and immutable way of transforming a companies supply chain and marketing. Already, massive enterprises like BMW, Deloitte, PwC, H&M, Givenchy, Haier, etc are signed up and using said solutions.
ToolChain is an unprecedented toolkit that brings the commercial VeChain IoT and Blockchain solutions used by famous companies and enterprises worldwide to everyone, without any technical knowledge or consultants.
For general, commercial, and business enquiries regarding the ToolChain toolkit, please email bd@vechain.com. Visit the VeChainWorld website and VeChainWorld forum to learn more about VeChain and ToolChain.
Credits and Acknowledgements
Article written by Wilson Cheah, or known as fatalexe on Telegram.
Contact the author through Twitter at twitter.com/FatalFatalexe
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider sharing this to your circles.
VeChain tip account (VIP180 tokens): 0x2C50c7AbA38b0C7ca4B5965f2ec9457Bcd319E18
References used:
https://medium.com/@bsc44/vechain-summit-2019-keynote-summary-4cebc5a98f29
https://medium.com/@vechainofficial/featuring-sbtg-vechain-meets-streetwear-6c7685c92487
https://medium.com/@bsc44/vechain-introduces-toolchain-567835dc042d
https://kwontik.com/review_vechain
https://medium.com/@vechainofficial/vechain-dnv-gl-and-haier-ioc-enter-into-tripartite-strategic-partnership-ed1abc7e98b4
https://medium.com/@vechainofficial/vechain-enables-customers-to-verify-the-proof-of-origin-in-japanese-tea-products-80b95f34ab5a
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/operations/articles/blockchain-supply-chain-innovation.html
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