Counterfeit Protection and Market Transparency: PSA Group launches tesa scribos security concept
Heidelberg, 14 November 2017. According to the Federal Trade Commission, counterfeit car parts are responsible for losses of around 12 billion US dollars annually. Counterfeiters make money at the cost of others: original manufacturers suffer substantial losses, garages have to contend with unjustified complaints, and road users are put at serious risk by inferior counterfeits. Brand manufacturers of car parts are taking action and protecting their originals products with specialist security concepts – like PSA Group. In collaboration with tesa scribos, the French car manufacturer has now implemented a security concept that combines counterfeit protection with an innovative ordering platform and an online verification system. This protects the original parts from counterfeiters and gives PSA Group complete market transparency.
Secured proof of authenticity is central to the concept
In addition to the item-specific security labels, two online tools also play an important part in the security concept.
Each product is provided with a tesa VeoMark security label, which gives each product its own traceable identity.
One is the online ordering platform ‘PSA – Secure Labels’ (www.p-sl.com), through which all orders of the security labels are placed and documented. This allows PSA Group to process and monitor every delivery – from ordering and payment to arrival at the PSA Group supplier, right through to when it enters the market.
User Management Modules make it easy to manage access rights. PSA Group is able to specify which suppliers are permitted to order which security labels and in what quantities. This prevents overproduction. A newsfeed on the platform also guarantees easy and effective communication with all suppliers at the click of a button.
The second tool is the tesa connect & check system. The online verification platform allows different target groups – such as customs officials, PSA Group suppliers and car mechanics – to check the authenticity of a PSA product easily online with a smartphone. As mentioned at the outset, each individual product is equipped with a unique QR code. Users scan the QR code with their smartphone using a standard QR code reader and are led through the verification process in a few intuitive steps. They are then shown which security features should be found on the product. If the authenticity labels depicted are missing, users can report the suspicious product as a potential counterfeit. They can also do other things, such as providing details of when and where the item was bought and uploading a photo of the potential counterfeit.
The tesa connect & check online tool affords access to a wide variety of reports, including the precise geodata of authenticity checks around the world, for example. These can be used as the basis for managing local investigators and thus for enforcing brand rights.
Combination with online tools: Order processing and market transparency
In addition to the item-unique security labels, two online tools are an important component of the security concept.
In 2017, the security concept was awarded the Technology Award by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group.
Firstly, there is an online ordering platform on which all security labels are ordered and documented (www.p-sl.com/). This allows the PSA Group to process and monitor every delivery – from ordering and payment to delivery to the PSA Group suppliers, and all the way to entry into the market.
Secondly, the tesa connect & check system is put to use. The online verification platform makes it possible for various target groups – customs agents, the PSA Group distribution network or car mechanics, for example – to easily verify the authenticity of a PSA product online using a smart phone. As already mentioned, each product is equipped with a unique QR code. The user scans the QR code using his/her smart phone with a standard QR code reader and is led through the verification process in a few intuitive steps. They are then able to recognise which security features should be found on the product.
If the depicted authenticity labels are not there, the user can register the suspicious product as a potential counterfeit. In doing so, he/she can, amongst other things, provide information on the location and time of the purchase and upload a photo of the packaging and the counterfeit product.
“The 360° solution from tesa scribos gives us full market transparency and allows us to take action against counterfeiters and the grey market,”
explains Guillaume NOCELLA, Brand Protection Manager for the PSA Group.