Walmart to use the “smart package” innovation will work with other innovations such as “autonomous vehicles” and drones. It improves on package security and package tracking.
Walmart wants to use blockchain to make shipping of packages smarter by way of better tracking. The company details an original package that uses blockchain to record information about package contents, its environmental conditions, its location and other information.
This is according to details of the patent by Walmart released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week Thursday.
Walmart first filed the patent in August of 2017 and sought to improve an earlier innovation submitted last year about a blockchain-based drone package delivery tracking system. Walmart said that online shopping brings some shipping challenges to retailers especially for perishable products requiring temperature control. This necessitated the innovation. Additionally, the novelty will also improve on security when shipping the packages, as expected.
The innovation will include “key addresses along the chain of [the package’s] custody, including hashing with a seller private key address, a courier private key address, and a buyer private key address.”
Moreover, the innovation can also be used alongside other upcoming technologies such as “autonomous vehicles” and drones.
The company is, alongside Kroger, Nestle, and other food industry firms, using blockchain to improve food traceability. This is after partnering with IBM last year. However, they are implementing a tracking system with blockchain technology. In fact, most of the companies are relying on blockchain technology to innovate their niches.
