Blockchain | 37Blockchain breakthroughA new blockchain technology is set to revolutionize the secure exchange of data through the label supply chain. Andy Thomas-Emans reportsuser-friendly blockchain technology “People will think developed by industry veteran Federico d’Annunzio, through his A about changing from new company Traent, aims to transform the label into a secure information ‘only’ a printer to a super-highway, changing forever the way provider of the digital supply chains operate and goods are sold.Blockchains are basically ledgers that embodiment of the record transactions between two parties or between two systems (or nodes). The product?’ This is a ledgers are authenticated by multiple computers on a distributed network, and all new transformation, these computers must agree that the ledger is authentic and has not been altered. This starting to add a new makes it a highly secure way of storing and exchanging information, pretty much layer to what they invulnerable to attack.Federico d’Annunziocan offer”How might this be applied to labels? ‘Digital embodiment’ be allowed to access information on converter. For example, it could provide D’Annunzio’s visionary concept is that the materials used in the manufacture time-stamped confrmation when the label digitally printed QR codes act as gateways and printing of the label, the date the is applied and provide a unique identifer for to almost limitless amounts of real-time fnished roll is available for dispatch, any product authentication and track and trace information encrypted in blockchains and certifcations required and the total energy applications.made available to view on secure browsers. footprint of the label. If the packing plants and warehouses The label becomes, in d’Annunzio’s ‘You can add data from different are on their own blockchains, these words, the ‘digital embodiment‘ of blockchains to that QR code,’ explains can intersect with the converter’s own the product. d’Annunzio. ‘By scanning the QR code and/ blockchains to create a fully transparent The label converter stores different or an RFID tag the quality control inspector supply chain. The result is a massive streams of data about the label in multiple can now see when the label was printed, reduction in cost, waste and time blockchains, and exports a subset of that the quality certifcates, when the customer to market. data into a database which can then be was billed, what materials have been used, ‘The label printer with a digital press viewed by outside parties. and so on.’ brings the brand owner into the new world This is critically important: the label A more extensive range of information of interoperability. This is a completely new converter chooses what data remains could be made available to a brand’s audit offering to brand owners. This is no longer confdential in the blockchain and what team, such that physical auditing of label “only” a label, but the digital embodiment data is made available for viewing. Also, the plants becomes unnecessary. of the label,’ says d’Annunzio. ‘The label converter gets to choose who views which ‘All this information will be available becomes a gateway to a wider world of parts of the data. in real-time and the delivery will be real-time data. A label carries a unique The type of data the converter chooses completely automated,’ points out Digital Product Passport, featuring the past, to encrypt and make available could d’Annunzio. ‘And there is no need to present and future of every single product. cover a wide range of information critical check the data, which is authenticated Creating additional product value and being to the effcient functioning of the wider by the blockchain.’ compliant with the future mandatory EU supply chain. The QR code gateway to the blockchain norms on traceability, effective starting For example, the brand owner might has further value upstream of the label in 2024.’Hybrid blockchainTraent says it has developed a new developed. Derived directly from public both worlds, enabling data-intensive and hybrid public/private blockchain blockchain technology, they are used transparent applications on blockchain.technology. What does this mean? to establish a private network for ‘According to a report of the European Public Blockchains, starting with Bitcoin, the exchange of secure data between Commission, scalability, performance, are primarily used for cryptocurrency organizations with opposed interests. interoperability, high energy exchange. Permissionless and Stored data does not provide any consumption, confdentiality, and the decentralized, they offer the highest guarantees to external agents that the protection of personal data are the main degree of transparency. Data is data has not been tampered with. challenges preventing the adoption of publicly available. The hybrid technology developed by blockchain technology. We fxed it all,’ In 2015, private blockchains were Traent is claimed to provide the best of says the company.Jan - Mar 2023