Blockchain can enable companies to control their brands and make their TM/trademark products more attractive and valuable — particularly in consumer facing industries such as pharmaceuticals, fashion and apparel, retail, automotive and consumer electronics.
In this swiftly changing retail and distribution environment, blockchain in brand management becomes imperative. With thousands of stores and distribution points closing, blockchain can address issues of product development, licensee management, data management, distribution, and counterfeiting.
Below is a list of blockchain benefits. It is by no means exhaustive and each point has nuances. However, they all can help improve the bottom line, and they can increase brand value.
1. Blockchain enables a more effective supply chain organization and product development process. It represents the ability to have the ultimate JIT supply chain organization.
2. It enables a brand owner to bundle technology into the brand itself, thus increasing perceived and actual value.
3. One of its key benefits is the ability to reduce counterfeiting and parallel imports by tracking specialized labels, chip implants, etc.
4. As a benefit reduced counterfeiting, brand owners may be able to convert counterfeiters into official licensees, while adding distribution and revenue.
5. With reduced counterfeiting issues, it enables brands to attract new licensees who might not otherwise take a license because of concerns over parallel imports and counterfeiting.
6. The use of an effective blockchain system provides superior licensee management, support, and control, as well as superior monitoring and reporting systems for licensees, retailers, and other partners.
7. Blockchain enables better management of new products and resources throughout the process, from raw materials, to manufacturing, to distribution and ultimate sale.
8. New customer technology and new custom product options become much more manageable with an effective blockchain as a backbone within the company.
9. An effective blockchain system should result in more efficient and better relationships with retailers and other distribution points. At the same time, far superior data management is possible on retailers and customers, as well as product status.
10. Better control of direct to consumer sales is imperative in this COVID and post-COVID world where 50 retail chains like Lord and Taylor and JCPenney have gone bankrupt in 2020. It will also enable increased direct to consumer sales going forward; and make the brand owner more competitive in the online world as well as with retail stores.[1]
All the aforementioned leads to an increase in revenues and profits when fully utilized. And this in turn increases the value of the owner’s trademarks and brands. Brand value increases could be anywhere from a 10% uptrend in value to a number much higher; and should result in increased awareness and positive feelings among customers — but equally importantly among investors and Wall Street.
[1] Retail Dive Data, Sept 2020