In a groundbreaking collaboration, Manufact and Elas have introduced an innovative strategy to instill trust in the luxury goods sector. Confronting the escalating challenge of counterfeiting across diverse industries, these two companies now present an all-encompassing traceability system, empowering consumers to validate each stage of the production process throughout the entire supply chain.
Their developed tools furnish both consumers and enterprises with the capability to trace every product through its complete lifecycle—from manufacturing and distribution to retail shipping, culminating in the hands of the end consumer. Mohammed Jaber (Co-Founder and COO of Elas) and Ali Beydoun (Founder and CEO of Manufact) elucidated this fresh approach at the recent London Blockchain Conference.
Jaber commenced the presentation by underscoring the antiquated technology prevalent in today’s supply-chain industry, attributing it to the rampant global counterfeiting problems. This outdated tech leads to uncertainties regarding product provenance, unreliable intermediaries, and questionable data integrity.
‘Blockchain has emerged as a solution to overcome these limitations by offering immutable storage and serving as a distributed ledger unanimously agreed upon by multiple stakeholders in the supply chain,’ explained Jaber. He emphasized that blockchain, with its timestamping of events, scalability, and robust security, is pivotal in addressing these challenges.
Despite the transformative utility of blockchain, Jaber raised concerns about the provenance of the Bitcoins facilitating this innovation. Elas steps in to provide a fully managed service, ensuring impeccable provenance by handling Bitcoin purchases and management discreetly, concealing it for a seamless user experience while preserving all the associated benefits. Additionally, Elas introduces private ledgers on the public blockchain, including a compartmentalized ‘private zone’ exclusively managed by businesses.
Taking a step further, Elas introduces Coinbase Output Ledgers, directly formed from newly minted coins, offering flawless provenance and eradicating any uncertainty about Bitcoin origin, making it particularly suitable for supply chains and government projects.
In a live demonstration during the presentation, Beydoun showcased how Manufact’s toolset functions to prevent fraud and counterfeiting. Beydoun highlighted Manufact’s focus on the luxury goods market, especially high-end brands, acknowledging their heightened vulnerability to counterfeiting and fraudulent activities.
Referring to the luxury cigar industry’s staggering $50 million loss in the European market due to counterfeit products, Beydoun shared a personal experience of being scammed after spending $2,000 on a box of fake cigars, which led to the inception of Manufact. He explained how Manufact captures data on the blockchain, transforming each sealed product from the factory into a digital token, showcasing details such as the factory of origin, expected destination, certificate of authenticity, and box number through the Manufact seal on a cigar box.