Paris. 16th May 2019 – ConsenSys, in partnership with LVMH and Microsoft, has announced AURA, a platform that aims to serve the entire luxury industry with powerful product tracking and tracing services, based on Ethereum blockchain technology and utilising Microsoft Azure. AURA makes it possible for consumers to access the product history and proof of authenticity of luxury goods — from raw materials to the point of sale, all the way to second-hand markets.
Several brands of the LVMH Group, such as Louis Vuitton and Parfums Christian Dior, are currently involved, and advanced discussions are underway to onboard additional brands from the LVMH Group, and other luxury groups globally. For Louis Vuitton, the development of the AURA project is the culmination of the traceability programme (Track & Trace) launched more than three years ago.
The luxury goods industry involves many specialised actors — design, raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution. LVMH products have a unique story to tell throughout the product life cycle that can now be revealed through the use of blockchain technology. During production, each product is recorded on the shared ledger, irreproducible and containing unique information.
At the time of purchase, a consumer can use the brand’s application to receive the AURA certificate containing all product information. Decentralised and immutable, blockchain technology provides transparency and a single source of truth for the consumer: it ensures the authenticity of the product, provides details on product origin and components (including ethical and environmental information), instructions for product care, and the after-sales and warranty services available.
An industry-wide platform powered by Ethereum Quorum
For this particular alliance of brands and technology partners, the AURA team chose to implement a consortium model, where any luxury brand can become a full member. This model ensures that the possibilities of the technology can be made accessible to all, while maintaining the flexibility to address the specific needs of each luxury brand.
AURA has been specifically developed by luxury brands, for luxury brands, offering a wide range of services specific to this industry. Brands have flexibility in designing the capabilities of AURA; some may choose to focus on the sourcing of raw materials, whereas others may focus on providing tailored services and strengthening consumer loyalty.
ConsenSys is one of the main technology partners of AURA. The ConsenSys team contributed to the design and development of Traceability Smart Contracts (based on ERC 721 non-fungible token standards), the AURA blockchain infrastructure (a permissioned consortium network with privacy, based on Quorum), and the brand API that allows luxury brands to interface with the AURA platform on a white label basis.
Ken Timsit, Managing Director of ConsenSys Solutions, the enterprise blockchain arm of ConsenSys, comments: “AURA is a groundbreaking innovation for the luxury industry. ConsenSys is proud to contribute and to work with LVMH on an initiative that will serve the entire luxury industry, protecting the interests, integrity, and privacy of each brand, leveraging Ethereum blockchain technology in a truly decentralised way.”
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