15 Apr
This is the second blog post for TrackMatriX’s White-Label Product and Document Authentication Track-and-Trace Platform Series.
White-label solutions are a popular and effective way for businesses to gain a competitive edge, enter new markets, and expand their customer base. The e-commerce market is expected to grow by 9.47% by 2029, with a total worth of $4,997 billion. Matomo increased its revenue by 40% implementing a white-label platform.
Despite these benefits, businesses often need clarification about their business plan if they use a white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform as providing a track-and-trace platform is indispensable for ensuring a seamless, secure, engaging, and transparent customer journey.
This confusion is understandable because if the white-label providers develop an e-commerce track-and-trace platform, what will be their role in access and user management? To answer this and similar questions, this guide aims to provide businesses with the necessary information to develop a successful business plan for white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platforms.
When Should Businesses Consider White-Label Track & Trace Solution?
Businesses can benefit from white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platforms in the following ways.
Get to Market Faster
By avoiding extensive coding, businesses can focus on branding and marketing, saving valuable time and resources. Pre-built functionalities and integrations further streamline operations, accelerating time-to-market.
Skip Development & Infrastructure Costs
Adopting a white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform allows businesses to bypass the substantial costs associated with development and infrastructure. By managing budgets wisely and prioritizing startup financing, resources can be allocated to customer support and crafting robust return policies, essential for customer retention.
Advantages include:
- Site Security: Provided with a secure, dependable platform, eliminating the need for in-house security measures.
- Cost Savings: Development and maintenance costs are significantly reduced, freeing up funds for other business needs.
- Speed: The track-and-trace platform can be launched swiftly, without waiting for lengthy development processes.
Focus on Branding & Marketing, Not Coding
With savings on development and infrastructure costs, businesses can redirect energy towards refining brand identity and executing effective marketing strategies. This focus on branding enhances brand recognition among target audiences, driving customer engagement and fostering loyalty.
Leverage Pre-built Functionality & Integrations
White-label e-commerce track-and-trace platforms often come with pre-built functionalities and integrations. Integration challenges are minimized, and platform limitations are bypassed, with immediate access to customer support and strict cybersecurity measures provided.
Enhanced Flexibility & Scalability
White-label e-commerce track-and-trace platforms offer valuable flexibility and scalability. By selecting a platform tailored to specific industries and niches, businesses can easily scale operations as they evolve. Seamless integration with third-party tools and services further streamlines processes, fostering growth.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Develop a Business Strategy with White-Label E-Commerce Track & Trace Platform
If you intend to sell your clients a white-label e-commerce track & trace platform, follow these steps for efficient workflows:
1. Decide on a White-Label Service Provider
The first step is to choose a reputable and reliable white-label solution provider. Some factors to consider when selecting a white-label service provider include:
- Maintenance and Support: The service provider ensures ongoing support and maintenance for the white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform.
- Data Storage Flexibility: The white-label e-commerce platform allows data storage in the end-user's country for compliance.
- Unauthorized Access Prevention: The service provider implements measures like data-label classification and strict server processes to protect the e-commerce track-and-trace platform’s integrity.
- Unauthorized Access Prevention: The service provider implements measures like data-label classification and strict server processes to protect the e-commerce track-and-trace platform’s integrity.
- Cybersecurity Assurance: The provider conducts frequent cybersecurity assessments for robust protection of the track-and-trace platform.
- Flexible Pricing: The provider offers various pricing models to suit different business needs.
- Compliance Protocols: The provider adheres to strict data protection regulations for platform compliance.
2. Understand The White-Label Service Provider’s Access Rights
It is essential to comprehend the correct procedure that white-label service providers follow to develop a white-label solution for your business. The absence of protocols could expose the code to compromise by developers or other IT professionals.
To address this issue, it is advisable to ensure that the white-label service provider you choose adheres to strict protocols, similar to those followed by TrackMatriX for its white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform:
- Access Control for Developers: Developers working on the white-label solution are granted access to source code repositories and development environments exclusively for writing, testing, and debugging code. This access is facilitated through robust Identity Access Management (IAM) systems, which ensure that only authorized personnel can perform tasks assigned to them and view only data that they are authorized to access. Additionally, developers are provided with documentation and support channels that can help streamline their development processes.
- Access Control for Deployment Pipeline: The deployment pipeline is a critical aspect of ensuring that only well-tested and bug-free code is launched onto the production server where customers are using the track-and-trace platform. Hence, best practices are followed, wherein new software features are developed in three stages.
- Developer Environment: The new code or feature is developed on a controlled and monitored local computer that can only be accessed by a named developer. After testing the functionality and reviewing the code, the developer pushes the code to a secured cloud-hosted server using a CI/CD pipeline, called the Staging Server.
- Staging Server: On this server, the quality assurance (QA) team tests the new features/fixes for all possible scenarios, identifies issues, and requests the developer to fix all discovered issues on their local environment and then push the corrections to the staging server. Then Automation QA runs automated test suites so that the features meet the predefined quality standard before the code is deployed to the Production Server by a Release Manager or Release Lead using the CI/CD pipeline.
- Production Server: Access to this server is limited only to specific members of the team, called the “Release Manager” or “Release Lead”. The production server hosts the application code used by the track and trace platform users.
- Access Control for Local Testing Server: Developers leverage local testing through monitored dedicated desktops and isolated environments on their machines or local networks to validate code changes before integration into shared development environments. Access to these monitored dedicated desktops is regulated through strict authentication and user authorization mechanisms.
- Access Control for Staging Server: Access to staging servers, utilized for pre-production testing and identifying software issues, is limited only to authorized developers. Role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms are implemented to enforce permission-based role and access management, granting developers the necessary privileges to test and rectify code issues while maintaining the integrity of the staging environment.
- Isolation of Production Server: Developers are explicitly prohibited from accessing the production server. Only the “Release Manager” or “Release Lead” has access to the environment where the finalized, public-facing version of the application operates. This isolation is enforced through stringent access control policies and robust authentication mechanisms, which safeguard the production environment from unauthorized access or modifications.
- Data Encryption and Privacy: Data encryption techniques are employed to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data, such as customer information and transaction records. By encrypting data at rest and in transit, the white-label service provider enhances security measures and mitigates the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.
- Isolated Database: Sensitive data is stored in an isolated database environment, separate from other components of the system. This ensures that customer information remains segregated and protected from unauthorized access or tampering. Access to the database is strictly controlled through authentication and access control mechanisms, further enhancing data security measures.
- Principle of Least Privilege: Access to data and systems is governed by the principle of least privilege, which means that individuals, including developers, IT professionals, and stakeholders, are granted access only to resources essential for fulfilling their job responsibilities. This principle is enforced through granular access controls, segregation of duties, identity and access management (IAM) solutions, and continuous compliance checks, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and potential security breaches.
- Architectural Separation and Role Segregation: This track-and-trace platform employs architectural separation techniques to segregate customer data from the source code. This architectural design, coupled with robust access control mechanisms, ensures that customer data remains protected from unauthorized access or tampering.
3. Provide Your Requirements for the White-Label Track-and-Trace Platform:
The process of acquiring a white-label track-and-trace platform involves articulating the required features and specifications. The basic version of the white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform should include services such as:
- A Track and Trace platform
- Logistics & e-Logistics Management System
- Item level tracking solution
- Retail management system
- Order management system
- Customer relationship management system
- Automated order confirmation processing
- Inventory management solution
- Warehouse management solution
- Return order management system
- AI-powered Consumer behavior analysis and reporting system
- AI-powered geolocation tracking system
- AI-powered fraud detection system
- Product management and landing management systems
- End customer authentication system
- User permission management system
- Post-purchase customer experience management system
Apart from these service offerings, if you need anything specific or unique, you should communicate it to the white-label service providers. Some of the platform specifications you could ask the white-label service providers to add are:
4. Test the Final Track-and-Trace Platform
Testing the platform is crucial to ensure its functionality, usability, and security. The tailored approach to testing involves verifying the platform’s ability to accurately track and trace products through the supply chain, authenticating products, and supporting white-labeling capabilities.
- Security measures such as data encryption protocols and user access control must be assessed. You should also conduct Penetration Testing to identify potential vulnerabilities in the authentication process.
- Usability testing involves evaluating the user interface, testing responsiveness across different devices, and gathering feedback from users.
- Performance testing involves evaluating the platform's performance under varying loads, response times for product authentication requests, and identifying any performance bottlenecks.
- The platform must also be tested for integrations, compatibility, compliance with relevant regulations and standards, and end-to-end testing to simulate real-world scenarios.
- Documentation provided with the platform must be reviewed for clarity and completeness.
- Training sessions must be provided to users on how to effectively use the platform for product authentication and track-and-trace purposes.
5. Clarify Roles for Customer Support and Maintenance Services
White-label service providers are responsible for providing customer support and software maintenance services under the brand identity of the business. This includes regular maintenance services, periodical updates, backup systems, customer engagement, logistics services, warranty product registration management, and product recall management. They are responsible for all back-end processes related to the track-and-trace software.
6. Develop a Pricing Strategy for your Customers
White-label track-and-trace platforms have been gaining popularity due to their cost-effective nature. To offer this platform to customers, a subscription-based model can be adopted. However, pricing can vary based on several factors such as the monthly cost paid to the white-label service providers, the number of users on the track-and-trace platform, the level of support and maintenance included, additional features or customizations requested by customers, contract terms, duration of the subscription, any add-on services or integrations provided alongside the track-and-trace platform, and competitive pricing in the market for similar solutions.
By taking these factors into account, businesses can determine the most appropriate pricing model for offering the white-label track-and-trace platform to their customers, ensuring that it remains cost-effective and competitive in the market.
How TrackMatriX Can Scale Your Business
TrackMatriX offers a streamlined process to help scale your business effectively, particularly in scenarios where NFC tags, RFID tags, or a combination of both are required. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how TrackMatriX can assist in this process:
- Understanding Customer Needs: Begin by comprehensively understanding the requirements of the customer. Your customer might require sensors, NFC tags, RFID tags, or a combination of both. He also needs a platform for tag management quickly and that’s where we help system integrators. We provide our white-label e-commerce track-and-trace platform to the system integrators quickly.
- Rapid Deployment: TrackMatriX enables rapid deployment of out-of-the-box white-label track-and-trace solutions. Within a week, a basic version of the required platform can be provided. This ensures that system integrators can promptly conduct sales demos, facilitating quicker decision-making processes for potential clients.
- Customization Options: TrackMatriX offers flexibility in customization. If the customer or system integrator requires specific modifications to the platform, these can be discussed and implemented efficiently. This ensures that the solution aligns precisely with the customer's needs.
- Collaboration with System Integrators: Track-and-trace solutions rely heavily on electronic devices like NFC tags, RFID tags, barcode scanners, IoT sensors, and managed devices. TrackMatriX supplies these essential electronic components to system integrators. The system integrators maintain their inventory of these devices in their warehouses and distribute them to end customers as needed. If system integrators deplete their stock, they can easily request additional devices from TrackMatriX, which promptly fulfills their requests.
- Integration Capabilities: TrackMatriX's platform allows seamless integration with various ERP systems and other enterprise-grade software solutions. Our e-commerce track-and-trace platform also integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Klaviyo, Shopware, Xentral, Descartes-pixi, and many others. These integration capabilities enable enhanced data exchange and management, facilitating smoother operations for the end customer.
- Out-of-the-Box Solutions: TrackMatriX provides ready-to-use platforms that can be easily deployed by system integrators. These solutions are equipped with essential features and functionalities, reducing the need for extensive development time and costs.
- Opportunities for System Integrators: By offering a platform that is ready for integration, TrackMatriX creates opportunities for system integrators to add value to their services. Integrators can earn revenue by incorporating additional customizations and integrations, thereby expanding their service offerings.
- Ownership of Code: TrackMatriX maintains ownership of the code, ensuring the integrity and security of the platform. This provides reassurance to customers and system integrators regarding the long-term sustainability and support for the solution and platform.
White-Label Track-and-Trace Platforms are the New Norm:
White-label track-and-trace platforms have become essential tools for businesses seeking cost-effective, efficient solutions. With 75% of web and cloud-based businesses using white-label solutions, they offer a competitive edge and facilitate market entry. However, navigating the adoption process requires careful planning.
This guide outlines key steps, including selecting a reliable provider, understanding access management, articulating requirements, and rigorous testing, so businesses can confidently implement white-label solutions, ensuring functionality, security, and competitiveness.
As demand for customizable solutions grows, white-label track-and-trace platforms will continue to play a pivotal role in business strategies, driving growth and success in dynamic markets.
Ready To Scale Your Business With a White-Label E-Commerce Track & Trace Platform?
Reach out to TrackMatriX today and learn how we can develop a highly scalable, cyber-secure, flexible, and customizable track-and-trace platform for you and provide you continuous software support, so you can focus on marketing and selling the platform to your customers with confidence.
Schedule a demo with us to start your journey to exponential business success!
Read the third blog post for TrackMatriX’s White-Label Product and Document Authentication Track-and-Trace Platform Series here.
About TrackMatriX Technologies Limited
TrackMatriX is a leading AI-enabled solution provider, technology developer, and system integrator dedicated to accelerating growth for retail, logistics, and manufacturing businesses. TrackMatriX provides brand protection, advanced digitalization, AI, AR, and SaaS development solutions for better business growth, personalized product experiences, and maximized customer engagement. TrackMatriX is your business partner for boosting revenue, protecting your brand identity, and providing you with advanced, scalable, and cyber-secure cloud-based, AI, and AR systems.
In 2010 NanaoMatriX developed the TrackMatriX SaaS platform, which was later patented in 2012 for the verification of product and document authentication using mobile devices, QR codes, and RFID tags. In 2019, NanoMatriX incorporated TrackMatriX Technologies Limited, which uses the TrackMatriX SaaS platform to track & trace products and documents for retail, logistics, and manufacturing startups and enterprises.
