Introducing Chekkit: product authentication in Afghanistan
As a follow up to Fantom's recent announcement of the MoU signed with the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health for drug verification and tracking, meet Chekkit Technologies, or Chekkit for short.
Chekkit has partnered with Fantom to provide its product authentication and supply chain tracking technology for the execution of the project. It's important to mention that the African health tech company, whose blockchain-powered anti-counterfeit solution is deployed on Fantom's Opera network, were finalists at the Fantom Blockchain Challenge held in Cape Town at the last edition of the AfricArena Summit.
Chekkit showed and demonstrated to every stakeholder involved that their technology was robust and mature enough to innovatively tackle the problem of counterfeiting in Afghanistan.
How Will Chekkit's Technology Will Be Used For The Pilot and Project?
- Serialization: The manufacturers of the 80,000 pharmaceutical products will utilize Chekkit's Consumer Intelligence solution where they get access to the unique product IDs (QR codes) that have been generated by the platform and stored on the blockchain network. The IDs are different for every unit and contain information on each product's SKU, production date, expiry date, registration number, and much more. The codes are then supplied as scratch-off sticker labels that then go on the products. The QR codes are hidden by the scratch panel of the label.
- Verification by regulators: Chekkit's smart labels are made using special materials called taggants which can be verified using special hand-held devices. These devices will be used to verify the authenticity of pharmaceuticals by regulatory officers at their point of entry into Afghanistan as well as during in-store inspections of drug retail outlets. This gives the project an extra layer of security.
- Verification by consumers: Everyday Afghans buying pharmaceuticals in stores can also verify the authenticity of drugs before they use them. All they have to do is scratch the Chekkit label on the product to reveal its unique QR code and just scan it using the Chekkit App. They can then see if the product is original or fake as well as other information on the product like its expiry date, registration number, etc. To encourage people to verify products, rewards (loyalty points for a raffle) have been attached to the verification process. A short feedback survey is also attached to the verification process.
- Data collection & analysis: When a product is verified, data like the location of purchase, time of verification, product verified, and so on, is collected and is made available to the product manufacturers in real-time. Even better, surveys have been tied into the verification process and consumers have to answer the 2 or 3 questions attached to a product to win a reward. With the surveys, data on consumer behaviour and preference will be collected and analyzed in real-time. All this is available to the manufacturer on Chekkit's Consumer Intelligence solution.
- Trackable reward & loyalty campaigns: The product manufacturers involved in the pilot will be running a raffle draw for consumers who have bought and verified their products. As a consumer verifies a product and takes a short survey, they are rewarded with points and entered into the raffle. The more products verified by a consumer, the more points got and the more entries into the raffle draw. At the end of the pilot, winners emerge, randomly selected by Chekkit's Consumer Intelligence solution.
- Supply Chain Tracking (Track & Trace): Chekkit's solution will be used to track the movement of pharmaceutical products from when they leave the warehouse and through every point in the supply chain. This will provide real-time visibility on the movement and distribution of pharmaceutical products until it gets to the final consumer. A pilot for this will begin after this initial phase of the project.
Why is Chekkit's Technology Right For This Project?
Being an African company, Nigeria to be exact, the team has experience in building solutions that are effective for developing nations in terms of easy-to-use uncomplicated technology, affordability, and of course, performance (thanks to Fantom's high-performance Opera Network). Having built the technology for the African market (which suffers just as much from counterfeit goods), adapting to the Afghan market was seamless because there are many similarities. Also, as mentioned prior, Chekkit's smart labels are made with special materials (taggants) giving it an extra layer of security.
In conclusion, Chekkit is well on the path to being an integral part of the long-term effort against counterfeiting in Afghanistan and it's hard not to cheer for them as they do.
Would you like to know more about Chekkit's awesome solution? Visit their website!
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