German car manufacturer BMW plans to integrate blockchain technology into its daily operations and create a blockchain loyalty program for its customers in Thailand. The well-known automaker has integr ated blockchain infrastructure company Coinweb as a provider of decentralized architecture and BNB Chain for transaction settlement.
The integration of blockchain technology into BMW workflows will take place in two phases. First, decentralized technology will be integrated into BMW's daily operations with the goal of automating time-consuming manual processes and streamlining the company's automotive finance services
The second phase of the project will see Coinweb develop a custom Web3 application for the BMW loyalty program. The program will use a blockchain-based reward system to incentivize customers of the BMW Group. The customer's level and status in the ecosystem will be determined by the loyalty rewards they have earned through various actions.
Owners will be able to use their rewards to purchase goods and services from BMW and the related ecosystem in the future. The original Binance chain of BNB will be used to settle transactions.
Talking about how customers will be rewarded under the upcoming loyalty program, Coinweb CEO Toby Gilbert told Cointelegraph that customers will be rewarded every time they have a point of contact with the BMW ecosystem, whether that is "buy a new car or choose a service". he further explained:
“Customers will be rewarded with loyalty points, which they can spend within the ecosystem. We hope to have a global rollout in the future, but for now our partnership is with Thailand.
BMW Thailand leasing director Bjorn Antonsson said that the company has been actively monitoring the progress of the decentralized technology and its various use cases over the years. Antonsson hopes that integrating blockchain technology into their daily operations will eliminate manual paperwork and help promote business efficiency and transparency.
Car manufacturers' interest in decentralized technology is not new, and BMW has been involved in the technology since 2018. BMW first used blockchain technology to track cobalt supply. and ensure their products are distributed according to ethical practices. Besides BMW, another famous German car manufacturer, Mercedes, has been actively using non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies as advertising tools. Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo already uses blockchain technology to track car records, while Ferrari's new contract also hints at NFT integration.