Honeywell Label Printers Leverage Blockchain Technology to Increase Supply Chain Transparency

Honeywell is using blockchain technology to identify and remove counterfeit products and make supply chains more transparent.

Honeywell Deploys Blockchain Technology for Label Printers

US-based multinational conglomerate Honeywell is leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) to aid companies with complex supply chain channels track the end-to-end journey of inventory and, in turn, maintain their market goodwill.

Specifically, Honeywell has partnered with iTRACE Technologies Inc., to integrate blockchain technology with industrial printers to provide real-time verification, authentication, and track-and-trace of printed labels.

For the uninitiated, iTRACE Technologies is a leading provider of supply chain security applications for anti grey market and anti-counterfeit. The firm’s iTRACE 2DMI solution can be printed, verified, and registered to the blockchain directly on the Honeywell PX940v Industrial Printer to allow secure product authentication and track and trace to be deployed in any warehouse or production location.

Essentially, the integration between the two firms allows the physical printed item to be connected to the digital ledger, thereby creating a digital twin for online authentication. The digital copy of the item works as an extra layer of security for goods across industries such as transportation and logistics, pharmaceuticals, shipping, and others that require high precision and error-free printing.

Track the Supply Chain Details via iTRACE Mobile App

Commenting on the development, Kevin Dehoff, president of Honeywell’s Productivity Products business, noted:

“The use of blockchain offers businesses many opportunities to ensure supply chains of all complexities reduce fraud and increase trust with consumers and suppliers.”

Adding:

“This simple to use and easy to deploy secure implementation of an anti-counterfeit technology used with our industrial printers will have a huge impact in the manufacturing and distribution industry where it has often been difficult to deploy these kinds of advanced track-and-trace and authentication solutions.”

Similarly, iTRACE Founder and CEO, Mark Manning highlighted that the blockchain-secured printing, verification, and registration of the printed label would foster a secure chain of custody for the label right from the time it is created to when it is delivered to the customer.

The entire supply chain journey of the product can easily be verified using the iTRACE mobile app, Manning added.

In related news, BTCManager reported in July that leading US-based coffee manufacturer J.M. Smucker had adopted IBM’s Food Trust blockchain to track its 1850 Colombian Coffee brand along the supply chain.