EVENTI
BLOCKCHAIN: EVERY LINK IN THE VALUE CHAIN BUILDS LOYALTY
Italian excellences, such as wine and high fashion garments, suffer every day from fraud and counterfeiting incidents worth billions of euros annually. In the wine industry, the most notorious case is that of the Sassicaia gang, which alone caused losses of around 2 million euros for the wine sector.
The Sassicaia case is one of the most striking episodes, but it was certainly not the first and unfortunately will not be the last. Counterfeiting cases, in fact, have been widespread since the 1980s, when methods and strategies were first tested that are still in use today. Among the most common forms are, for example, packaging forgery and refilling with non-original wine.
This causes a significant loss of reputation for both the wine sector and Made in Italy itself, also generating consumer distrust, which then requires a slow process to be regained.
The fashion industry, just like wine, is not immune to attempts and episodes of fraud and counterfeiting.
According to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as early as 2020 the counterfeiting of garments and accessories cost the high fashion sector more than 5.2 billion euros.
In fashion, counterfeiting mainly occurs through the use of low-quality materials which are sometimes processed in such a way that it becomes difficult — for an inexperienced eye — to recognize whether an item is genuine or not.
To fight counterfeiting, fashion houses, as well as wineries, have begun to resort to more or less technological solutions such as tamper-evident films or labels, holographic prints on seals, but also QR codes and systems capable of ensuring traceability and authenticity.
By using technological tools such as QR codes and RFID technology, it is possible to track products and guarantee their authenticity through different levels of security, which also make it possible to communicate with customers and establish direct one-to-one communication channels, thereby increasing the level of customer loyalty.
This is made possible especially thanks to the use of blockchain which, when integrated into supply chain management, facilitates product traceability and authenticity monitoring while ensuring the truthfulness and immutability of the information provided. This technology makes it possible to track all production processes by creating a unique serial code that accompanies the product throughout its life. In this way, every ownership transfer is recorded, ensuring meticulous control even of distributors, subcontractors, and retailers, who have often been identified as the weak link in the chain, behind which counterfeiting episodes can arise.
Of course, it is not possible to prevent or predict every single episode of fraud, but with the use of blockchain and structured technologies, the equation can be tilted by making attempts unsustainable and discouraging anyone intending to commit such crimes.
Customers at this point become a fundamental link in the chain because, by simply scanning the QR code on the products, they can access their history, follow the lifecycle from creation to distribution, obtain a guarantee of authenticity, and receive tailor-made content from companies, building a relationship based on loyalty.
