7 minute read
What Challenges Do You Have?
Yann Quinche, Smart and Security Solutions Expert at MCC
Is your brand facing one of the following challenges?
Counterfeiting; Tampering; Product Diversion; Packaging Reuse/Refilling; Product Dilution; Product Contamination/Adulteration; Product Substitution; Parallel Market
How can we address this?
With security label solutions that combine Authentication and Identification features.
Authentication features
To ensure end users that the product they purchase and will use have not been tampered or counterfeited by anyone. Not being able to offer such warranties could divert some consumers to other brands offering such authentication measures.
Identification features
Consumers need to be sure the product they buy or consume is sold in the intended market. Supply chain visibility and integrity are at the heart of ensuring consumers trust and safety. You might ask yourself: Is my product sold in the intended market? Do I face any grey market activities? Is my supply chain reliable? A robust track & trace solution is central for collecting data and build business intelligence to take actions.
Security solutions to integrate into your label
MCC approaches security solutions as a step by step approach, understanding your needs and collaborating with your team to provide the best possible solutions.
Tamper evidence
Safeguard the integrity of your product against any tampering / refilling attempts. You can have the most advanced and secured features on the market, but if the tamper evidence is not right, the complete solution will collapse as the integrity of the product cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, at MCC, selecting the right material construction is the starting point of all our solutions. Destructible papers and films or void constructions combined with special adhesive formulas as well as security micro cuts are part of our DNA.
Anti-counterfeiting
Guarantee the proof of genuineness of your product thanks to multi-layer security features. If you only do one, counterfeiters can crack your security of what you are doing.
After having chosen the right substrate construction to meet the requested anti-tampering properties, comes the question of the security layers to be integrated into the design. Depending on the scope of the project and specific requirements, MCC will build the right security design to meet your goals and guarantee the genuineness of your product to your end consumers.
Thanks to our wide portfolio of security inks & foils combines with unbreakable security graphics MCC can ensure the robustness of all its solutions.
Mix these following solutions together for ultimate protection: • Security inks/foils - Color-shifting inks, invisibles inks, reactive inks, taggant inks, diffractive effects are just an example of what could be integrated into your next generation of security label. • Security graphics - Even less advanced security inks can become unbreakable if combined with a strong security graphic. Imagine if combined with the most robust inks/foils! Microstructure, hidden pattern, latent image, invisible structure, specular effects are just a few examples within our portfolio.
Tamper band
Connectivity
Allow your product journey tracking to have full visibility and control on your supply chain and engage your consumers. The digital transformation is underway and brand owners must take advantage of it in their security strategy. Empowering consumers will enable you to strengthen your relationship with your consumers (attraction & decision making, information, marketing campaign) while collecting data, build business intelligence and take actions.
Brand Distribution Retail
• Direct and personalized communication with end-customer • Anti-refilling and brand protection • Loyalty to the brand • Leverage innovation in brand’s image • Product’s authenticity verification • Grey Market
Activities prevention • Expiration date control • Track&trace • Always up-to-date promotions • Sales activation through digital channels • POS control and management • Out of stock monitoring
Client
• Real-time benefits to purchase activation • Personalized content • Safe product confirmation • Extended label
At MCC, we can make your product interactive either via optical recognition (image recognition, secured barcode and QR code) or thanks to radio frequency. We have options in these two possibilities to connect your product with the consumer.
Add these smart packaging solutions to your label:
Optical Recognition
Secured Barcode
A barcode is a linear one-dimensional code that can be scanned by optical scanners or smartphones equipped with a camera. Historically used to automate supermarket checkouts, barcodes has become over time a universal must-have. Barcode can also offer extended product information on a generic level. If combined with a special security graphic, onedimensional code can also be used for product authentication using proprietary apps.
Secured QR Code / Data Matrix
Secured QR code / Data matrix is a two-dimensional barcode allowing faster readability and greater storage capacity in comparison with standard barcodes. Benefits include single product identification, marketing campaigns as well as track & trace options. Nevertheless, authentication cannot be guaranteed without the addition of an extra security element to prevent the copy and replicability of the code.
Consumers scan the code to instantly receiving information about the product and the next steps to authenticate it. Using proprietary apps, the consumers will get access to the authentication tool and additional info about the product and its journey.
Digimarc
Digimarc Barcode is a machine-readable digital identity that can contain the same data as UPC/EAN symbols or carry similar information to QR and DataMatrix codes. Digimarc is a seamless element of the packaging artwork itself, unobtrusively doing more than visible codes can. Some unique benefits include improving visibility of supply chain, streamlining data capture operations across the supply chain, assists with meeting sustainability goals and is applied at the point of printing which makes it difficult to counterfeit.
REQUIREMENTS
Consumer Engagement Extended Product Information Marketing Campaigns Real-Time Promotion One-to-One Communication Single Product Personalization Product Authentication Product Identification Shoplifting Simple Logistic Management Mass Scale Logistic Management Supply Chain Control Inventory Management POS Control and Management Out of Stock Monitoring Sensors
OPTICAL RECOGNITION
RADIO FREQUENCY Secured Barcode Secured QR-Code EAS NFC RFID Bi-Frequency
X X X
X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X
X X
X X X X X
X X1 X X2 X2 X
X X X X X X X3 X X X3 X X X4 X X
X1 – RFID can also be used for a simple case with handheld readers X2 – RFID is the best option here even if NFC might be used for special cases (i.e. liquids, consumer comm).
Bi-Frequency tags are the best of both but comes with price. X3 – Smart shelf uses NFC for monitoring X4 – Some sensors also available with NFC (i.e. temperature data logger - you can read the output with a smartphone)
Radio Frequency
EAS
Electronic article surveillance tags are used to prevent shoplifting. The antenna-based tags are directly applied to the merchandise and are deactivated by the cashier during the checkout operation. If not deactivated, the tag will detonate when passing through the store’s electronic detection systems alerting the staff of the attempted theft.
EAS RFID
Ultra high frequency and EAS tag combined together to provide you with track and trace and security solutions.
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags will require a reader device to transfer data. This communication protocol offers major benefits for large scale logistic management and supply chain control as unlike barcode, the tag can be read without being in the sight of the reader and from a long distance allowing automatic identification and tracking.
This type of serialization also deters distributors of the product from selling product on websites such as Ebay and Amazon. Brands are aware of exactly which serialized codes were shipped to which distributors.
NFC
Near-Field Communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols allowing contactless data exchange and communication between two electronic devices over a short distance, typically a few centimeters. Derivative of RFID technology, NFC can be used for various purposes from pure marketing aims to high secured goals. Thanks to the new generations of NFC-enabled smartphones, this technology is rapidly gaining market share because of its multiple advantages and easy to use mode.
Bi-Frequency
Combine the benefits of an RFID and NFC in one single tag.
