Counterfeiting is on the rise and the global counterfeit market now worth in excess of $500 Billion. And the problem’s only growing. Counterfeiting is a global issue, with a never-ending list of goods like Drugs, clothes, cosmetics, luxury items, toys, collectables and wine, susceptible to this brand of fraud. This costs company’s revenue, negative impact to their reputation and can also be dangerous for public health. Embedded NFC tags authenticates a product, help checking its origin and promote the relationship between a brand and its consumers. It is possible to guarantee the integrity of the product and authenticate their origin.
As each tag features a Unique Identifier (UID), it can also store information for quick and accurate product authentication. One can easily verify the genuineness of the product with the tap of the smartphone. At any time, from factory to the consumer, each step of the supply chain represents a potential point of entry for counterfeit and gray market goods. NFC tags ensures the provenance and the precise visibility of the products journey throughout the supply chain. You can also add the additional information into the NFC tag throughout its journey, for even greater accuracy. Tamper-proof NFC labels also detects whether a product has been interfered with or opened prior to sale. If the tag has been damaged, the chip stops working and thereby making transfer impossible.
Beside fight against counterfeiting, NFC can bring a much-improved customer experience and enhance customer relationship. The customer can read the additional product information with their NFC smartphones, order complementary items, Visit Company’s website, receive special offers and enjoy additional benefits. Product companies can enhance the levels of customer engagement which, in turn, can positively influence their revenues and the brand’s reputation.
ST25 NFC tag with TruST25 digital signature makes it possible to reliably catch counterfeit tags or clones, increasing trust all along the supply chain. The TruST25™ digital signature is an enabler for confidence throughout the entire supply chain, providing an intrinsically secure means of product identification from silicon manufacturer to end customer. In addition to the supply chain, TruST25™ digital signatures can also be used to track objects as they move through their journey to help streamline delivery management systems.
By- Amit Sethi, Technical Marketing Manager – NFC/RFID, STMicroelectronics.
For more information, visit www.st.com
