Blockchain is helping to fight the fakes
Auckland-based developers Sylo and TrackBack are partnering to deliver a blockchain powered platform to reliably trace goods from production to the consumer’s front door.
The platform, to combat the estimated $1.2 trillion of counterfeit items traded worldwide each year, is expected to launch in the first half of 2019, the companies said today.
TrackBack will use Sylo’s communications and payments platform to let consumers buy and then reliably follow exported products through the entire supply chain.
"For premium New Zealand exports such as wine, milk and honey, expectations and stakes are high, as are the costs of ensuring products are still what they say on the packet, when they reach dinner tables in countries such as China and the United States of America," the companies said.
"The partnership will ensure New Zealand exporters can protect the single biggest asset they own; their international brand reputation," Sylo co-founder and product director Ben Jordan added.
“TrackBack’s blockchain-enabled tracking software, combined with Sylo’s world-leading secure data management and consumer interface platform, will allow New Zealand exporters to sell direct to consumers while guaranteeing product authenticity. This has never been possible before."
The platform is expected to also reduce the risk and cost associated with trading internationally, making markets such as China significantly more accessible for New Zealand businesses.
“In addition to this initial use case, this tracking solution will have the potential to be rolled out globally for almost any use case or product type," Jordan said.
Meanwhile, TrackBack general manager of product and delivery Eryn Lovell said the quality of New Zealand-made products is our largest selling-point and consumers pay a premium for that.
"Every time a product is copied or tampered with that reputation is put at risk,” she said. “A user-friendly, reliable and transparent way to unequivocally prove the provenance of exports reduces the risk for importers and consumers and will enable New Zealand made to once again be a trusted mark of quality.”
Sylo is owned by DN 3010 Ltd which is in turn majority owned by Brian Hubbard and entrepreneur and investor Robin Johannink. Trackback is also owned by local investors.
