Accordingto a forecast by IDC, the global Internet of Things (IoT) market will grow from US$1.9 trillion in 2013 to US$7.1 trillion in 2020. TheMcKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2025, the economic scaleof IoT applications will be between 3.9 trillion and 11.1 trillion.

Thesestudies by authoritative organizations have indicated that the IoT industry will usher in an explosive growth. On the other hand,traditional supply chains have adopted a rigid and closed system which leads to many problems, such as tedious processes, inefficient communication, and lack of cooperation amongst enterprises. Coupledwith an inefficient information transmission method, all parties inthe supply chain are often slow to respond, lags behind ininformation processing, and have problems scaling up. Under thesecircumstances, it is difficult for traditional supply chains to focuson the real needs of consumers, which affects business developmentand market expansion plans.

Ifwe want to solve the problems commonly associated with traditional supply chains, utilizing just general IoT technology alone may be insufficient. This is because today's IoT systems are mainly developed around a centralized architecture, and devices and machinesare configured on the cloud through centralized servers.

With the rapid expansion of IoT networks, the number of devices will increase exponentially, while the data collected by these deviceswill also increase significantly. If the general IoT system is stillused, some potential system problems will be exposed and exacerbated,resulting in unimaginable consequences. Therefore, UCOT have combined blockchain technology with IoT, transforming it from an expensive centralized architecture to a decentralized distributed autonomous ecosystem that can improve system transparency, ensure stable datastorage, and strengthen user trust. UCOT will use advanced technologyto create a new solution that can optimize the current supply chain industry.

OptimizingSupply Chains with IoT and Blockchain

UCOTis trying to solve common issues within the industry through blockchain technology, and is focusing on creating commercial publicchains, alliance chains and private chains, thereby providing solutions for the entire industry. Each product is issued with aunique and tamper-proof digital ID. All commercial activities andparticipants surrounding the product will be recorded on the blockchain, and consumers can trace the entire process without fearof data tampering.

UCOThas also led the pack by releasing six world-leading blockchain products that focuses on document certification, smart agriculture,food traceability, medical tracking, wine verification, cold chainlogistics, luxury goods verification, supply chain finance, legalforensics, asset tracking and other applications.

The UCOT system operates in a consortium chain with trusted consensus nodes, which also allows IoT devices to participate inblockchain-related activities. Among existing blockchain networks,Ethereum provides a stable overall framework for the alliance chain.In additions, Ethereum has complete support for smart contracts andcan realize new and customizable applications. On this basis,Ethereum has a multi-light-node blockchain architecture, which canfurther optimize the accessibility of IoT devices.

TheUCOT team has long identified blockchain technology as the perfect companion for IoT, and has aggressively recruited stakeholders tojointly build the UCOT ecosystem. These partners will use the UCOTplatform to improve the efficiency of their supply chain operations,and accelerate their adoption of IoT technology. Among them is theSixth Avenue Group of Australia, also known as the “strongestsupply chain in Australia and New Zealand”, and which operates a multinational e-commerce platform with annual sales amounting tohundreds of millions of yuan. The Sixth Avenue Group of Australia hopes to use UCOT solutions to further upgrade their cross-bordersupply chains, and use it for their expansion plans to other international markets such as Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

UCOTwill also help companies in agriculture, FMCG and other industries upgrade their supply chains, reduce costs, improve efficiency, andgain more market share. UCOT supports a multi-product ecosystem withhigh-tech R&D technology that gives customers the utmost convenience through UCOT products. UCOT will uphold its innovation todeepen the application of the IoT in various industries.