Ecommerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently filed a patent for a supply chain management system for tracking goods, and it is based on blockchain technology.
The patent which the company filed on May 26 highlights the plan to create a tracking solution that will leverage blockchain technology to facilitate the sale of authentic goods on Amazon’s e-commerce platform. The company reportedly decided to use blockchain to address the security and transparency issues that plague traditional database systems. It, therefore, hopes that using decentralized ledger technology will allow it to leapfrog those issues.
“Features are disclosed for an interface for verifiable tracking of an item through a supply chain using a distributed electronic ledger,” states the abstract for the patent.
The patent explains that Amazon will use its enterprise services platform, which will tie in blockchain technology to introduce more trust into the company’s global supply chain. The solution will enable more efficient tracking of products from the production line and across the supply chain until the product reaches the end-user.
Amazon’s blockchain-related patent highlights the first Bitcoin whitepaper to point out how immutable and time-bound blockchain features can help facilitate the authenticity and tracking of items in a supply chain. This might be a game-changer for Amazon, especially towards solving the problem of authenticity, which has been a major stumbling block for the company. The existence of counterfeit products on Amazon has discouraged major companies such as Nike and Birkenstock from selling their products on Amazon.
The e-commerce behemoth hopes that the new move will help eliminate the problem of counterfeits and perhaps even encourage major brands to embrace its platform. The patent also revealed that multiple parties, including producers, distributors, couriers, and even the consumers will be able to contribute to events on the ledger. However, this will only happen if the party receives approval from a certification authority.
The news about Amazon filing a patent for a system that involves blockchain technology is also a huge plus for the blockchain community. The fact that a major company such as Amazon is planning to use the technology may encourage other major companies to embrace blockchain, thus adding to the adoption momentum that may help bring it into the mainstream.
