Application for Counterfeit Detection in Supply Chain using Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Counterfeiting is a global issue affecting a wide range of industries including luxury goods, clothing and pharmaceuticals among others. Proving or disproving the authenticity of an asset can be a challenge because traditional supply chains are long, complex and lack transparency. However, placing the supply chain on a decentralized technology like blockchain will ensure that goods will have provenance due to its immutable transaction history, which in turn makes it difficult to masquerade counterfeit products as real and take their place in the supply chain. Blockchain can bring all entities like the manufacturers, suppliers and distributors together in a close-knit and transparent manner. It keeps records of all transactions and other necessary information visible to all concerned parties while minimizing the possibility of records being tampered with. Therefore we intend to provide a lightweight, cost effective implementation that makes a supply chain secure, decentralized and verifiable besides omitting inadequacies in the supply of genuine products and cutting back on costs involved in detecting faulty areas.