The rapid development of the Internet which we have been seeing lately has enabled businesses with tools for global outreach and partnerships across the world. Despite the new opportunities this has provided to fair players, the global market faced new threats as well. One such is quickly growing production and circulation of counterfeits. As a result, global blue chip companies now lose revenue and have to struggle for their reputation, while customers are in danger of losing money and sometimes health by consuming inauthentic products. The Seal project aims to be a blockchain-based solution of this problem.
Product authentication powered with blockchain
The platform offered by Seal is designed to enable product authentication with blockchain and related services. They suggest incorporating dynamic near-field communication (NFC) chips into the manufacturing process of each authentic item so that customers can identify it with their smartphone. NFC chips provide better security than static QR-codes and RFID.
Manufacturers and consumers in full control
Seal wants to equip customers and manufacturers with an instrument allowing to secure a deal between them. Manufacturers will have useful insights on each authentic copy such as in which country it is traded, how frequently it changes owners, and so on. As for end consumers, they will be enabled to check the authenticity of a product when buying it and register their ownership to prevent theft, for insurance, and to allow P2P transactions. The Seal tokens are used by brands and users to pay for the additional services.
More than authenticity protection
The solution by Seal is targeting the two key actors of a deal: manufacturers and end consumers. Based on that, we can outline the project’s key features called ‘services’ going beyond authenticity protection.
Seal for manufacturers
Authenticity protection with NFC chips. Tracking parallel trade, the import of products between countries which hasn’t been authorized by the brand. Companies often set prices based on the economy and the tax regime of a particular country which results in lost revenues when products are illegally sent to be sold in another country.
Recalling products which have been identified as potentially dangerous or not meeting the declared quality standard after they were launched on the market.
Product analytics allowing marketing insights which can be used to improve how the product is positioned and distributed.
Custom integration enabling brands to create their own apps with the Seal API. This is supposed to help companies achieve their specific goals.
Ownership transfer. When a consumer sells an item equipped with the chip the brand earns money.
Seal for end consumers
Authenticity verification with the Seal mobile app or custom application of a brand.
Ownership registration which is useful for insurance, helps prevent theft and enables P2P transactions. Retrieval of stolen or lost items and theft prevention. In case of losing or stealing the owner can flag their item respectively with the Seal App. They can set a message that will be displayed when the item is scanned next time, making selling it harder and letting the founder know who the owner is and how to help them get it back.
Competition
The idea of combating counterfeits with blockchain has been in the air for a while now. VeChain, BlockVerify, Chronicled, and Blockchain Tech Ltd. offer solutions that are very similar to that by Seal. Some of them have a track record, such as BlockVerify which has been worked on since 2015, others represent an effort undertaken by an established blockchain development company. This means that analyzing their experience could provide a better understanding of the market. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any effort by Seal to do that. Yet a peek into the above-mentioned projects shows that several of Seal’s key features differentiate it from the competitors.
Seal Token Sale Summary
Conclusion
The problem Seal aims to solve using blockchain is genuine. However, their predecessors have been working on it since as early as 2015 and it would be smart to analyze their experience. We strongly recommend Seal do that and present the research to investors and their target audience to demonstrate their awareness of the market and competitive environment. The main challenge the new project is facing is convincing manufacturers to incorporate the NFC chip into their production process. These chips are not expensive but still add some cost. Another thing that raises awareness is the opportunity for manufacturers to track their products which many users will find as unacceptable. The theft prevention feature also looks controversial because it can only have effect if the stolen item is scanned by the person who purchases it from the thief with the app.
On the positive side, the team behind the project is managed by two leaders who create the impression of solid experts in marketing and technology. Also, we were positively surprised to see a mention of Seal on Forbes. One feature that helps Seal stand out from the crowd is enabling brands to earn on the secondary market when their product changes hands. They have already reached the soft cap which indicates interest by the community. Taken all that, we believe that Seal is worth watching.
Website: https://seal.network/
Whitepaper: https://seal.network/seal-whitepaper.pdf
Telegram: https://t.me/sealnetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/seal_network
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SEALnetworks
Medium: https://medium.com/sealnetwork
ANN: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2929809.0
Author: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=980049
Disclaimer:
This review by Bonanza Kreep is all opinion and analysis, not investment advice