What sort of useful information would you like to see on a cigar band/box utilizing NFC tech.

[SCgarman]

Does anybody here think the incompetent clowns running the Cuban cigar industry really are going to take this sort of technological leap into the future with their "dysfunction"? Totally laughable. If what a member said here is true, that they can't even procure something as simple as boxes to package the cigars, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona for sale.🤪

[ATGroom]

4 hours ago, Groucho. said:

I worked on a patented barcode technology for mostly track and trace/pedigree for pharmaceuticals - in order to curb counterfeits. Each "unit" contained a serialized barcode (Or in this case NFC code) meaning that out of a thousand boxes of COH Cor Especiales produced at EL for 2023 the barcode would be COCOESP-EL-2023-000, then next COCOESP-EL-2023-001 all the way to COCOESP-EL-2023-999.

This is the "chain of custody" idea.

The problem for Habanos is that once you get to the 'slightly dodgy' market - grey market websites, non-specialist retailers, auction sites, guys selling on Facebook etc - where almost all fakes are sold, you are probably going to be at least two steps of custody away from a scan.

For fake boxes with duplicated barcodes to start getting duplicated scans and therefore a suspect history, they'd have to re-enter the legitimate supply chain while the original box was still in the chain. I'm sure it would happen from time to time, but very small percentage. 

It does raise one thought though; how will the grey market scrub the seals if the serial is in a chip? Is it going to become normal for them to microwave all boxes for a few seconds?

There is a website VINwiki where people report sightings of specific cars, including accidents, sales, mileage updates etc to give a history of the vehicle. Perhaps something similar would be useful for high end boxes.

[Groucho.]

20 hours ago, KCCubano said:

YES! I want nothing that COULD possibly raise prices any further. Most everyone here knows of legit vendors. No need for any extras. Just my opinion.

I hear you but you are thinking from only your perspective, "I know how the legit vendors are", not from the perspective of Cuba/HabanosSA who are protecting:

1.) Brand image and integrity (how many have purchased fake Cubans on Sint Maarten while on a cruise and declared, "Cuban cigars suck, I'll never purchase those again")

2.) Profits (the folks in #1 above would be potential long term customers and ambassadors of the Cuban product if they only knew whether or not what they were buying was legit)

This undertaking, if it is to really happen, and if they go with the serialized coding with a pedigree track and trace, does not benefit the educated consumer who already has their legit vendors all lined up.

 

JMHO

 

[Cigar Salute]

Honestly, before they introduce NFC to the mix, they could probably tamp down alot of their issues if they did just a little more with what they have now...

1)  Serial number database that requires a login with Habanos, who will then provide an email associated with that login ID.  Perhaps  maintained by a third party company to ensure proper utility.  Provide more information than just simply what those cigars are. Provide all the pedigree info for that box, the last time that number was verified in database, and the number of unique IP's checking that number, and when they checked.  Possibly some way of the system alerting users that the serial number they checked & registered as their own has been checked on again recently, and another individual is claiming to have a box with the same deets.  I'm not a tech guy, but I've seen enough to know that finding a way to thwart counterfeiters from re-using older, legitimate serials should be a priority.  

2)  Update UV anti-counterfeiting measures annually.  This includes bands & seals alike.  The counterfeiters have copied just about everything at this point, and anything they may not have copied is probably not known to the average consumer either, so it becomes useless either way.  

3) Habanos provides better consumer education about how their products are sold,  & become less opaque about every damn thing they do.  Also, they need to encourage folks to use whatever system they put into place.  Nothing will work if people don't use it.

If they were gonna do NFC for all boxes though, I think they could effectively stop a decent percentage of counterfeits if they could somehow integrate it with suggestions from #1 above.  The big problem with an NFC - based system, or ANY sort of verification system, is educating consumers on how to utilize and understand it!  

As of now, a good number of people don't even know about half of the authentication measures in place today until they suspect an issue with a particular box, and ask others to help them verify it.  Until both Habanos and consumers both make some fundamental changes in the way things are, high end cigars will continue to be a common target for counterfeiting.