JD.com rolls out Blockchain Open Platform

Chinese e-commerce giant, JD.com, has unveiled a new Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.

JD Blockchain Open Platform enables customers to create and adjust smart contracts on public and private enterprise clouds. The technology can help companies streamline operational procedures such as tracking and tracing the movement of goods and charity donations, authenticity certification, property assessment, transaction settlements and digital copyrights, the retailer says.

The initiative is part of its Retail as a Service (RaaS) strategy. The first partner to use it is China Pacific Insurance Company (CPIC), which tapped the platform to deploy a traceable system for e-invoices, or fapiao’. The system strengthens the security governance of e-invoices by applying unique blockchain IDs to each document, increasing efficiency and streamlining the accounting process, it claims.

“JD Blockchain Open Platform is a culmination of the expertise and experience in blockchain technology that we initially developed for our own operations, to provide more visibility to consumers,” says Jian Pei, Head of Big Data and Smart Supply Chain at JD.com. “As we continue to open our technology and infrastructure up to other companies, we are pleased to have CIPC as our first blockchain platform customer.”

“JD is an innovator in its field and we are confident its blockchain e-invoice system will create greater efficiency in our operations,” adds Yanhong Pan, Vice President and CFO, CPIC. “Blockchain technology is transforming the way companies do business, and we are pleased to have found a great partner in JD to guide and help us along the way.”

Blockchain pioneer

Last year, JD introduced a blockchain platform that enables customers to track and trace the source and development process of the products and food they purchase. To date, the company has implemented blockchain tracing for more than 400 brands and 11,000 SKUs on JD.com.

It is also working with software companies and certificate authorities home and abroad to explore the application of the technology in their businesses, such as enterprise resource planning.