Page 38 - Food & Drink Business August 2018

LABELLING, CODING & MARKING
✷ HOW IT WORKS THE NUTS
AND BOLTS
The app is a modular platform that allows companies to pick and choose from a range of features.
If brand protection is a concern, for instance, brands can track all electronic product code information services (EPCIS) events, and track the product through its chain of custody.
Another key offering is the global product database which allows brands to enter detailed product information into Shping’s database, which is then accessible to consumers and stakeholders. This marketing feature allows brands to directly reward consumers for accessing their product information and engaging with the brand via reviews, videos or social media.
The product authentication feature allows customers to verify the authenticity of a product and confirm its location, which in turn enables brands to identify anomalies in the supply chain.
Raw material traceability enables manufacturers to track their stock of raw materials, and provide data structures linking the use of specific raw materials to their products, giving a granular understanding of a product’s composition.
Product recall management helps brands to identify if a product has any components for which a recall has been issued and alert consumers if a given product is under recall as soon as they scan the product, or if they have scanned the product previously.
Shping also allows brands to sell extended warranties on the Shping
platform, and consumers now have visibility of the location of products in
the supply chain, enabling brands to quickly pinpoint items down to the
saleable unit and activate product
recalls. Brands can also use the new serialisation
protocols to offer information about a product down to the saleable unit, allowing promotions, stock replenishment, and small-batch recalls on specific products in certain locations.
Companies buy the Shping coin to reward customers who engage with the brand.
It continues to run in Australia, Singapore, China and Russia, and led Volchek to the idea of marketing to consumers through the scanning of barcodes.
“He essentially added marketing to the platform, and industry-specific cryptocurrency,” Stevenson says.
“The crypto is a great carrot dangling in front of consumers to participate, watch videos, write reviews, upload photos of product – and the more they participate with the app, the more cryptocurrency they can earn.”
Notably, Shping, the brand of AuthenticateIT, also offers a strong vehicle for policing brands and retailers using the certified organic stamp.
“Some products and brands are using the stamp before they are fully registered, so this will
be a way of giving consumers accurate information,” he says. So far, Shping has partnered
with Australian Certified Organic, AsureQuality (owned by the New Zealand
65%
THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WHO USE A DIGITAL DEVICE TO ASSIST THEM BEFORE THEY GO SHOPPING
Government), The National Farmer’s Federation of Australia and The Asia Food Safety Zone in Changchun, China.
The ICO conversation started mid-last year after Volchek
presented to different organisations and received conceptual buy-in.
“Gennady went on a world tour where he presented at a number of the major marketing, blockchain and cryptocurrency events around the world,” Stevenson says.
Brands buy the Shping coin to reward consumers who scan, watch a video, engage with the brand, and then link to Facebook, for example – and as brands come on board with richer content, they are paying to fulfil that interaction with the consumer.
“They are buying engagement, but they are not paying a big media company like Facebook or Google for that engagement – they are rewarding the consumer directly,”hesays. ✷
38 | Food&Drink business | August 2018 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au