Russian Marking System Chestny ZNAK Wins Over Riyadh
Saudi Arabia sees Russian digital goods-marking system Chestny ZNAK as a model for building a transparent, manageable product market.
At the international industrial expo INNOPROM in Riyadh, the Russian side introduced Saudi delegates to the digital goods-marking system Chestny ZNAK (Honest Mark). Russia’s experience drew interest from Saudi officials, who now view the system as a foundation for establishing a clear and governable product market in their country.
The international exhibition took place on February 9 in the capital of Saudi Arabia. The official walkthrough of the expo included a delegation from the kingdom led by Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Huraif, as well as a Russian delegation headed by Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov. The marking system was presented by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ekaterina Priezzheva and Andrey Kirillov, CEO of the Center for Advanced Technology Development.
Demonstration in Practice
Visitors were shown how the digital marking system works in practice. Each product unit is assigned a unique digital code that follows it through all stages of the supply chain — from manufacture or import to the cash register and the end consumer. Shoppers can check the legality of products via the Chestny ZNAK mobile app.
Working System
In Russia, digital marking is already used successfully in practice. Today Chestny ZNAK covers 33 product categories and connects over one million companies in a unified digital loop. According to the system operator, the share of illegal product turnover in the country has fallen from 26 % to 9 % thanks to Chestny ZNAK, and the total economic benefit to the budget is preliminarily estimated at more than 1.6 trillion rubles ($~20 billion). Additional revenues for legal businesses are estimated at 700 billion rubles ($~8.8 billion).
Unique on the World Stage
According to Andrey Kirillov, the Russian system remains unique globally because it achieves full coverage of all cash registers nationwide. This has made it possible to block more than three billion units of products with various violations. For Saudi Arabia, which currently lacks a unified cross-sector marking system, the Russian approach is seen as an example and a possible model for building an honest and controlled product market.
