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Smart Systems detect Counterfeits

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Smart Systems detect Counterfeits

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Since the beginning of this year Original1 – a joint venture of SAP, Nokia and Giesecke & Devrient - has fought against copies and for the preservation of brand values. Now Schreiner ProSecure has also started to support this joint venture with the aim of offering customers a complete portfolio of services designed to successfully counteract product piracy.

Initially it was only minor parts that were counterfeited. Then medium-sized appliances followed and today entire machines and equipment are being copied. Bootlegs have long since stopped being made in hidden backyard workshops but are now fabricated in proper looking manufacturing sites using state-of-the-art technology. They are sold worldwide and mass-produced in ever larger volumes. There are no limits to the copy cats’ pursuit of profit anymore.

Product counterfeits are regarded the greatest problem for branded product manufacturers. According to estimates the damage caused worldwide amounts to EUR 500 billion. And this issue is likely to become even more burning in future. Especially affected are fashion producers, pharmaceutical companies and tool and die makers.

Original1

1 February 2010 saw the joint venture of SAP, Nokia and Giesecke & Devrient go into operation in order to offer producers worldwide services for product authentication and fighting product counterfeits. Companies and customers are to be protected against product piracy across sectors of industry and their brand value, turnover potential and proceeds from branded products to be retained.

According to manufacturers’ data the products are fitted with forgery-proof, two-dimensional barcodes. At various levels of the supply chain these can be read, initially using Nokia telephones; the product information read here can subsequently be matched with a database. Later all established mobile telephony platforms will be suitable for this. Furthermore, it is planned to extend the service to include the identification and tracing of conventional barcodes, RFID chips and holograms.

In this joint venture Nokia supplies the mobile authentication software which enables companies to track the complete lifecycle of a branded product via mobile devices - from its production to the end user. G&D’s contribution to Original1 is the security solutions for the complete supply chain. These include user authentication, end-to-end encryption of data flows as well as the encryption of the Original1 databases. The Original1 solution covers the complete supply and retail chain by equipping products and packaging with smart, forgery-proof and consecutive product codes.

"We see big business opportunities for product and brand protection services," explains Antti-Jussi Suominen, General Manager, "Commerce, Corporate Development at Nokia, and adds: "In 2006 Nokia launched a mobile-phone based business software for product authentication. The current joint venture is a logical step towards expanding this business model. We will equip Original1 with the mobile competence and the associated technologies and are convinced that mobility will introduce a paradigm shift for product and brand protection."

Enhanced Service Spectrum

Since October this year the specialist for labelling and safety solutions, Schreiner ProSecure, has additionally supported the joint venture. The aim of the IT solution developed by Original1, which is independent of the platform, is to create transparency along the value chain and to make for gapless product verification via mobile phones and the Internet. The system is based on a central database containing information on the product and its history along the supply chain.

The services provided by Original1 are based on SAP technologies and solutions. SAP delivers ERP integration, Nokia the mobile code-request and Giesecke & Devrient the secure data encryption solution.
The cooperation with Schreiner ProSecure is now hoped to extend the service spectrum: this company develops and produces forgery-proof labelling solutions with encrypted coding in accordance with the standards of the Global Brand Protection Service (GPBS) by Original1. These characters can be integrated into ERP systems and the plain text be optionally checked online by consumers.

Available Globally

"The product and brand protection system is based on the trust that customers and companies place in it. Giesecke & Devrient is a trustworthy partner for governments and companies with special security requirements," says Dr. Kai Grassie, Group Senior Vice President and Head of the G&D New Business Division. "It comprises such areas as bank note printing and processing as well as security products and services in mobile communication, payment transactions and IT security. This extensive know-how in the area of high-level security technologies is G&D’s contribution to Original1."
From the outset Original1 has worked for Nokia and BASF. Other enterprises are to follow. The combination of various areas of expertise from different partners is designed to give companies a single-source solution to protect their products and documents which can be rapidly integrated into existing processes and infrastructures. The aim is to make the product lifecycle completely traceable - from production to end users. This globally available service for combating counterfeits aims to give companies of all sectors the opportunity to efficiently fight product piracy with innovative and targeted security features which easily incorporate the detection of originals into processes.