Luxury Brand Louis Vuitton Seeks Authenticity Check through Blockchain, Microsoft to Help

AURA: Brand Blockchain

The blockchain platform, code named AURA, will be developed with the help of Microsoft, the tech giant behind the Windows operating platform The Microsoft Azure team will be handling the development, with collaboration from ConsenSys. The French designer firm intends to employ blockchain, leveraging its immutable and efficient technology to record its complete supply chain. This includes from the very start, from raw material origins, down to the product on the market shelf. Users will be able to scan product tags and view the complete history of the product they intend to buy.

This means that the chances of counterfeit product making into the hands of a customer, who believes he or she will be buying an authentic one, will be eliminated.

AURA will be built on the Quorum blockchain. The specific version will be based off the one JP Morgan is using. But the designer version will have more security in order to prevent customer data being viewed by the brand.

Brands on Board

Louis Vuitton has also said that when the blockchain platform AURA is developed, it will release its intellectual property rights, which it will turn over to a still unformed organization that it will help develop along with other brands.

The organization will be run by the brands that will join it. Louis Vuitton will help other brands to use blockchain by also offering white label ledger services. The appeal of blockchain to brands has seen rising interest. The technology offers a highly efficient way to not only monitor supply chain, but also offer the data of each individual product to be viewed by customers. This allows a satisfaction that the product being bought is authentic. With blockchain, the counterfeit market will finally be run out of business as people will know the origin of their products.

ConsenSys and Microsoft Azure have been developing AURA for more than a year now. The platform is currently going through its final checks, which include protection of intellectual property. The AURA platform is slated to launch in June this year, with major branches of Louis Vuitton being online.

Louis Vuitton is the largest fashion brand from France, with more than 450 stores operating in roughly 60 countries. The brand was worth USD 28.4 billion in 2013.