Countering The Counterfeiters

When you think of fine jewelry, the name Cartier probably comes to mind. Counterfeiters think the same way, and they're making big money from skillful imitations.

As much as 24% of luxury-goods makers' profits are lost to counterfeiters, says Marc Frisanco, deputy chief, intellectual-property counsel at Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Cartier's parent company. And that's "on the low side," he says. To counter the counterfeiters, Richemont plans to use supply-chain tools from GenuOne Inc. to track and authenticate its Cartier-brand goods.

The software will be used in conjunction with a covert digital mark placed on each item that conceals a unique product number that's readable by scanning devices. Cartier is rolling out scanners to more than 200 of its boutiques and thousands of independent businesses this year and next.

When customers bring in a watch or a piece of jewelry for service, employees will be able to authenticate that it's a Cartier product by scanning the digital mark and sending the data to Cartier over the Internet. That information will be correlated with a tracking-system database that contains information such as the place of sale and what repairs have been made.

Cartier also will use GenuOne's TraceGuard system, which includes the authentication and tracking tools, to monitor and locate parts along the supply chain. The software is replacing a mix of systems at production, distribution, and client sites that require manual entries of product information in order to share information.

Cartier isn't planning to use radio-frequency identification tags because antenna size and battery life make the technology unsuitable for its small, long-lasting products. But the company wanted software that supports RFID tags, in case advances in the technology some day make it feasible for use on its products.