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In today’s global retail marketplace, where consumers buy products through a multitude of different channels, counterfeit products are permeating the supply chain.
Counterfeiters—who are often also contributing to terrorism or other organized crime—are stealing design files, reverse-engineering products, or simply replicating luxury items using cheap materials that are of poor quality and are often hazardous to consumers. The International Chamber of Commerce estimates that counterfeiting causes companies worldwide to lose roughly $1 trillion in sales annually, which doesn’t even account for losses attributed to damaged reputations, legal costs and exhausted internal resources.
With brands’ intellectual property increasingly under threat and consumer’s expectations for vast product selection and swift delivery rising, the retail industry is feeling the pressure to deliver the perfect omni-channel experience. The so-called fake omnichannel, or “fomni-channel,” is often indistinguishable to the consumer—they may spend money buying fake products without even realizing it. It’s more important than ever for brands to protect their product authenticity by implementing proactive anti-counterfeit strategies.
Serialized item-level identification ensures authenticity
At the heart of any good anti-counterfeit plan is inventory visibility, and the use of Electronic Product Code (EPC)-enabled...