Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology and the world’s largest retailer, Alibaba, has announced they are going to move to Blockchain via its subsidiary, Koala, a digital traceability platform which they acquired for $2 billion in late 2019.
According to Chinese media reports last week, Alibaba is using Koala for total transparency for their supply chain and by using Ant Financial Services Group’s (AFSG) blockchain technology where users can scan the two-dimensional code of the blockchain through Alipay. They can then view the information of each step of product registration, customs clearance and logistics. Ant Financial Services Group formerly known as Alipay is an affiliate company of the Chinese Alibaba Group and is the highest valued FinTech company in the world, and the world’s most valuable unicorn (start-up) company, with a valuation of US$150 billion.
Supply chain quality manager of Koala Zhao Jiechen said that the biggest significance of blockchain for traceability is to let consumers know where their goods come from, where they have been, and where they are, and use technology to make information more transparent.