On June 25, in combination with Walmart China, China Chain-Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), PwC, Inner Mongolia Kerchin Co., Ltd., and VeChain, the Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform, built on the VeChainThor Blockchain, was announced at the 2019 China Products Safety Publicity Week Traceability System Construction Seminar. This seminar was jointly organized by Walmart China and the CCFA in Beijing.

The announcement of the Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform came with the introduction to the first batch of 23 product lines that have been tested and launched on the Platform. The Platform is expected to scale by another 100 product lines by the end of the year covering more than 10 product categories including fresh meat product, rice, mushrooms, cooking oil, etc. It is expected that the Walmart China’s  traceability system will see traceable fresh meat account for 50% of the total sales of packaged fresh meat, traceable vegetables will account for 40% of the total sales of packaged vegetables, traceable seafood will account for 12.5% of the total sales of seafood by the end of 2020.

VeChain’s blockchain technology is enabling Walmart China to implement a traceability strategy for products and pioneer the large-scale application of blockchain traceability. By scanning the desired products, customers can acquire detailed information, including the source of the scanned products and geographic location received by Walmart, logistics process, product inspection report, and many more data points. Data collection and data availability are to be continually added to the scale of the platform and its use of blockchain technology.

THE WALMART CHINA BLOCKCHAIN TRACEABILITY PLATFORM SIGNING CEREMONY

The Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform signing ceremony took place at the 2019 China Products Safety Publicity Week Traceability System Construction Seminar. The partners in attendance are represented by:

• Mr. Pei Liang, President of CCFA
• Mr. Chu Dong, Vice President of CCFA
• Mr. Shi Jiaqi, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Walmart China
• Mr. Yang Weizhi, Managing Partner of PwC China Strategy and Innovation
• Mr. Feng Yikai, Chief Operating Officer of VeChain
• Mr. Liu Xiaoen, Chief Procurement Officer of Walmart China
• Mr. Chen Mingzhi, Chief Ethics Compliance Officer of Walmart China
• Dr. Yan Zhinong, Executive Director of Walmart Products Safety Collaboration Center
• Mr. Li He, Chairman of Inner Mongolia Kerchin Co., Ltd.

As part of the event, the signing ceremony attendees conducted a discussion on how to share responsibilities and use technological innovations to guarantee the quality and safety of products and edible agricultural produce, boost consumer confidence and satisfaction, and contribute to the upgrading of service consumption.

Kevin Feng, Chief Operating Officer of VeChain commented on the collaboration, said: “As the world-leading enterprise-public blockchain platform, VeChain aims to empower enterprises in the large-scale digitization process by providing safe and mature blockchain deployment solutions and promote the wide application of blockchain technology. We achieve this while putting forward new insights for the development of the businesses’ ecosystems. The launch of the Blockchain Traceability Platform by Walmart China, the world-class retail giant, is of great significance to the commercial application of blockchain technology. VeChain will work with Walmart China to actively take heed of the call of the government, by utilizing technology to promote the traceability of fresh food, and to provide innovative solutions for the traceability platform through digital technology, so as to generate more transparent and reassuring consumption experience.”

Shi Jiaqi, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Walmart China, stated: “Walmart has always worked to provide reliable products of quality and convenient services to customers, which is our core value proposition. With this target in mind, Walmart has continuously invested in the whole supply chain, from source procurement and commodity strategy, supply chain construction, to store and e-commerce platform operation management. We use digital methods to improve efficiency and transparency, providing products and services of quality to customers and making life better for busy families in China. ”

Elton Yeung, Strategy and Innovation Leader, PwC Mainland China and Hong Kong, pointed out: “PwC’s mission is ‘building trust and solving important problems’, which is the top priority of PwC in providing professional services and making business decisions. In the face of food safety, how to build consumer trust is a problem that PwC, our clients and partners have been trying to solve. We believe that Walmart’s Blockchain Traceability System will be an excellent example of blockchain technology applied in the retail industry, helping to improve food safety and quality management, and providing a strong guarantee for building consumer trust.

REALIZING LARGE-SCALE APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND PROMOTING PRODUCT TRACEABILITY IN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY

As a retailer trusted by consumers, Walmart has been devoted to improving food safety and quality management, and VeChain’s blockchain technology will enable it to take the lead in traceability management among retail peers. Walmart China has pioneered the large-scale application of traceability platform based on the VeChainThor Blockchain, giving priority to products of high-concern and high-risk. The first batch of 23 product lines have been tested and implemented using the public blockchain platform with more than 100 product lines following in the second half of this year, covering more than 10 categories.

Domestic customers are proposing higher demands on food safety, digitalization of food traceability will help suppliers to increase their brand value and win their consumers’ trust. Walmart China expects the use of the platform to continue to grow in scope, accounted scales, and geographic implementation. As the platform continues to expand, more categories of food will be traceable and thus the value transfer will be further expanded in the industry reflected on the VeChainThor Blockchain.

Through the technical support of PwC and VeChain, Walmart China has built the proprietary food safety traceability platform on the VeChainThor Blockchain. Participants in the supply chain will share their portion of data, and promote the visibility and management efficiency of the whole chain by utilizing the decentralized and tamper-proof blockchain technology. This platform enhances the transparency of product information, ensures the authenticity of product data, and boosts the trust of their consumers. In the future, the Walmart China Traceability Platform shall adopt multilateral cooperation, synchronizing data from local governments’ traceability platforms and suppliers’ own platforms, so as to provide customers with safe and high-quality products, all on the VeChainThor Blockchain.