Summary

  • A premium European fragrance brand needed end-to-end traceability for a better visibility across its global supply chain, to detect products sold in unauthorised markets. It needed a solution that could be deployed quickly, fit existing operations and avoid significant investment in new equipment.
  • Within four months of project launch, products were serialised, Digital Fingerprints were captured, and data was being collected from packaging suppliers, production sites and distribution centres. This created a scalable foundation for brand protection, supply chain intelligence and future consumer engagement.
  • By using packaging suppliers’ infrastructure that could already serialise products and capture EDGYN’s Digital Fingerprint, the brand implemented product authentication across its entire portfolio in just three months.
  • Two production lines and two manufacturing sites were equipped with aggregation to facilitate and optimise operations in warehouse and distribution centres.

The challenge

A premium European fragrance brand known for its luxury fragrance collections wanted to better protect its products by identifying product diversion, where authentic products are sold outside authorised distribution channels, and to build a direct connection with its consumers.

The company operates an international supply chain. Its packaging is produced by printing partners in Europe and Asia, products are manufactured and packed in the EU, and finished goods are distributed through a global network of warehouses, retailers and e-commerce channels.

This increasingly global distribution model created several challenges:

  • Limited visibility of product movements beyond manufacturing and distribution centres.
  • Difficulty identifying the source of diverted products appearing in unauthorised markets.
  • Warehouse processes that needed to stay efficient as unit-level tracking was introduced.

The company needed a solution it could implement rapidly, that would fit existing operations and deliver visibility early, without substantial capital investment.

The solution

The brand partnered with EDGYN to deploy a phased traceability program across its supply chain. Two objectives guided the project: keeping CAPEX to a minimum and aligning with recognised industry standards.

Rather than introducing new hardware or production line modifications, the project used printing equipment at the packaging partners’ sites that could already capture EDGYN’s Digital Fingerprint and serialisation. This significantly reduced implementation timeline, kept CAPEX to a minimum and made rapid deployment across multiple sites possible.

Phase 13 months

Product identification and authentication

The first phase gave every product a unique, verifiable identity. Each secondary packaging unit received a serialised QR code, and its Digital Fingerprint was captured and linked to that identity in a secure database.

What is EDGYN’s Digital Fingerprint?

The Digital Fingerprint is a product authentication solution that uses the natural, microscopic surface characteristics of each package to create a unique identity that is extremely difficult to replicate. It can be verified with a smartphone. Because it relies on the packaging itself, no additional security labels, inks or physical features are required.

Within three months, every package across the portfolio had a unique, verifiable identity that could be authenticated throughout the supply chain, without overt security features, laying the foundation for traceability. Beyond its original goal of identifying diverted products, the brand also gained protection against counterfeiting, through EDGYN’s Digital Fingerprint.

Phase 21 month

End-to-end traceability and diversion detection

The second phase extended visibility across the supply chain by adding aggregation and traceability, and was completed in one month.

Aggregation systems at the manufacturing site establish parent-child relationships between individual products, cartons and pallets. Destination information assigned to a pallet or carton is then automatically associated with every product it contains.

At warehouse level, EDGYN equipped all customer warehouses with an advanced scanning solution that records dispatch events and links products to their intended destinations.

As products move through the supply chain, this data builds a digital history of each item. The brand can compare where a product was intended to be sold with where it actually appears in the market.

Central visibility with EDGYN Care

At the core of the solution is EDGYN Care, the central repository for production, authentication and tracking data. Through its Purchasing, Supply Chain and Brand Protection modules, the brand teams can:

  • Manage subcontractors and configure the code ordering platform
  • Query the repository to optimise the supply chain
  • Detect, analyse, record and prove grey market activity
  • Monitor product movements across regions and channels
  • Generate reports and actionable intelligence for enforcement

Field teams use a mobile application to scan products, verify authenticity on the spot and collect market intelligence from retailers, distributors and consumers.

Phase 3Future scope

Consumer engagement

A future phase will extend the programme to direct consumer interaction, using the same serialised QR codes powered by the GS1 Digital Link.

What is the GS1 Digital Link?

The GS1 Digital Link is a global standard that lets a single QR code work both at the retail checkout and as a gateway to product-specific online content, such as ingredients, usage information or sustainability data.

Building on the same product identity infrastructure already used for authentication and traceability, the brand will be able to offer personalised experiences, product information and digital services without changing its packaging or production process.

RESULTS

In four months, the fragrance brand moved from project launch to an operational authentication and traceability program, covering two production lines across two manufacturing sites in the EU.

Rapid Deployment

  • Phase 1 rolled out serialisation and Digital Fingerprint authentication across the entire portfolio in three months.
  • Phase 2 added aggregation and warehouse tracking in a further month.

Minimal CAPEX

  • Existing printing infrastructure at the printers’ sites already supported EDGYN’s Digital Fingerprint capture and serialisation.
  • The deployment avoided modifications to production operations.

Low Operational Impact

  • The solution was integrated into existing manufacturing and warehouse processes.
  • Production disruption was minimised throughout implementation.
  • The company gained immediate visibility without undertaking a large-scale transformation programme.

Scalable Foundation for Growth

The project established a scalable digital identity infrastructure capable of supporting:

  • Counterfeit detection and authentication
  • Product diversion detection and investigations
  • End-to-end supply chain visibility
  • Future consumer engagement programs powered by the GS1 Digital Link

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

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