Blockchain applications in Suning and PingAn

Abstract

The emergence of blockchain technology has facilitated the digital transformation of many businesses and thereby increased the competitiveness of China in the global market. As a cutting-edge technology, Blockchain has significantly influenced the practices across all business sectors. Focusing on the retail and insurance sectors, this paper analyzes the blockchain technology applications in two companies - Suning and PingAn. Success factors in blockchain implementation were discussed by using TOE framework. Similarities and differences in the implementation and development processes are compared. Features from the two corresponding industries - retail and insurance are also summarized. The major results revealed that retail and insurance industries are two of the most important application sectors of blockchain technology, and Suning and PingAn are both pioneers in blockchain technology development and implementation in their specific sectors. However, there are still distances between Chinese blockchain providers and world leading providers of blockchain, even though China has the largest number of blockchain patents in the world. The research results provide meaningful insights and practical implications to the blockchain application fields.